Title: Kiss Me, Kane

Author/Pseudonym: Tinnean

Fandom: Love and Human Remains

Pairing: David/Kane

Rating: NC-17

Series/sequel: yes, sequel to Sweet Dreams

Disclaimers: David & Kane, Candy, Benita and Bernie belong to Brad Fraser, but Guy and Mike are mine.

Notes: I liked this movie so much I couldn't bear to say good-bye.

Summary: Love is grand, but life goes on. David wonders if he can overcome his fear of auditioning and Kane still has some issues with the green-eyed monster.

warnings: Contains spoilers for the movie and song lyrics (what can I tell you? I'm *trying* to practice safe writing here!)

Warning: m/m graphic sex, language, AU, coercion, possible incest implied, so if that squicks you, walk on by!

Notes: the line I had David paraphrase from Taming of the Shrew is probably not iambic meter, but please bear with me, there are some things I don't need to know.

Chapter 26 Note: For those who never had a puppy, weewee pads, which are much like Chux for incontinent patients, can be used in place of newspapers to paper train the puppy.

Kiss Me, Kane

By Tinnean

A muscular arm was clasped around Kane's waist, keeping his back tightly pressed to a lightly haired chest. Long legs tangled with his own, and a hard, hot, persistent erection nudged against the shadowy cleft of his buttocks.

David's fingers wound in the long strands of Kane's hair and gently tilted his head back, exposing the line of his throat. Drowsily the older man licked his way up to his young lover's ear, carefully taking the gold hoop between his teeth. His warm breath washed over Kane's skin, and waves of pleasure began to radiate down to his lower body.

Kane hummed with excitement and reached behind him to take David's engorged cock in his hand, alternately squeezing and stroking. David growled and left off teasing Kane's ear, letting the younger man feel the controlled bite of his teeth against the spot where his neck and shoulder joined.

This was one action guaranteed to result in spontaneous combustion. Kane moaned breathily and thrust his hips back, trying to lure his lover into ravishing his needy body.

"David!" he whispered, his movements restless, "take me now!"

A lubricated finger pressed for entrance, easing past the tight ring of muscle, sliding in deep, then withdrawing. David established a seductive rhythm that had Kane writhing in mindless desire, pleading for a more intense joining.

"Tell me what you want, baby. Tell me how you want me!"

"Please, David! Fuck me! Push your hot cock into my ass and fuck me hard! Hurry David, hurry! I want you to come inside me the same time I come all over your hands!"

And Kane sighed in relief as he felt his lover's condom-covered shaft finally entering him.

"Yes, yes!" he chanted. "Fuck me! Fuck me!"

David's hips moved faster and faster as he felt his climax approaching. One hand stroked the younger man's quivering cock, while the other fondled the twin jewels that hung below. Their breathing grew ragged as they both trembled on the brink.

His grip almost painful, his fucking deep and powerful, David drove Kane closer and closer to the edge. And then suddenly they were both in freefall, hoarse cries signaling their descent from the heavens.

David's hands were coated with Kane's essence, and he lazily massaged the creamy liquid into his lover's chest and abdomen.

Turning onto his side carefully so as not to dislodge his lover from deep within him, Kane twined his arm around the older man's neck and drew his head down to his own.

"I love you, honey man!" he murmured as he rubbed his lips against David's mouth. He could feel David smiling.

David's fingers stroked the soft hair of Kane's underarm and he shuddered in response.

"What are you doing to me?" Kane sighed.

"If you can't tell, then I must not be doing it right! You're *mine*!" David said fiercely.

"And you're mine!" Lazily the younger man turned in his lover's embrace. "What are we going to do today?"

"I thought we'd spend the morning in bed!"

"Oh, I like the sound of that!"

"Then we'll look at what they've done to the house."

"That sounds good too, David. But then we'll have to get ready for work," he mourned. "I wish we could take some time to be alone, away from everybody."

"I know what you mean, baby. There's just too much going on right now." David had some surprises up his sleeve for his young lover, but they would have to wait until a later date. Right now he had other things on his mind. "We'll talk about it tomorrow." He rolled his hips and Kane gasped at the hot feel of David, once again hard within him.

"Yes!" the younger man gasped, excitement rising in him. "After all, tomorrow is another day!"

David dissolved into laughter. "Have you been watching Gone With The Wind again, baby?"

Kane's grin was hidden by the long brown hair that covered his face. And then he was distracted by the twitching of the shaft buried deep in his narrow channel. He curled his legs up to his chest, accidentally discovering a way for David to achieve a deeper, fuller penetration. He pulled his
lover's arms about him and held on tightly.

David kept him secure in his embrace.

And began the pleasurable task of making love to him once again.

*****

Benita had no dining room in her apartment, never having felt the need for one. She was used to having all her meals alone in the little nook off her kitchen.

Now, with two men in semi-permanent residence, and another there so often he might as well be, her apartment was becoming a little crowded.

Wrapped in the black kimono with the red and white Japanese dragons, she peered over the island of her kitchen counter into the living room. Because there was no table, the large set of blueprints was spread out over the carpet. Kane was on his knees pointing out some of the features he could not possibly live without, while David leaned forward, watching his lover.

"We could put the walk-in closet along this wall, and the bed over here." He pointed to a spot toward the back of the house. The whole second floor was to be opened into one enormous room.

"Yes, let's talk about the bed." A lazy smile curled David's lips, and Kane felt warm color mount his cheeks. Dragging his eyes back to the blueprints, Kane tried to focus on what he had been saying, but all he could picture was a big, rumpled bed with the two of them tangled in the sheets.

He looked back at the older man, dismay written on his face.

"The bed, baby. You were talking about the bed."

Kane swallowed in relief. "Yes. The bed. I thought a platform, if that's okay with you?"

"Whatever you want, but nothing larger than a queen-size."

"Well, sure, but why?"

"Platforms don't come smaller than that. Did you think I'd want something lavish, like a king?"

Kane nodded mutely and David hooked an arm around the younger man's neck, pulling his face close. He nudged his lover's lips apart and fastened their mouths together. A soft sound passed from one to the other, but neither could tell who voiced the erotic moan.

"I can afford to buy you a king, if that's what's worrying you," Kane murmured, nuzzling his cheek against David's beard-roughened jaw. "I've got the trust fund my grandmother left me; I can buy you whatever you want!"

"Baby, all I want is you. And I *don't* want a bed that's so large I could lose you in it! I want you snug against me all night, every night! And fuck your grandmother's money; I've got enough to keep us comfortable without ever having to touch a penny of yours!"

"Huh?" Kane looked confused. David had been working as a waiter for over ten years, barring that six month period when he had tried to overcome his fear of auditioning. How could he have much money?

David took one more taste of his lover's lush mouth, then began rolling up the blueprints. "My manager might have been clueless as to what was happening to me on that show, but he was a wizard when it came to financial matters. He saw to it that three-quarters of my salary went into a mutual fund that invested in moderate to risky ventures, and by the time The Beavertons went off the air, there was enough in that fund to last me the rest of my life. Even if I never work again!"

"You're wealthy?" Kane sounded disgruntled.

"Comfortable," David corrected. "This is a problem? I thought you'd be happy ‘to know I'm not marrying you for your money!"

The younger man's mouth dropped open. "Marry? You want to marry me?"

"Yes."

The simple, one word answer left Kane breathless. His lips parted and he began to hyperventilate; his eyes grew panicky as he felt himself on the verge of passing out.

David was amazed at the effect his words had on his young lover. Then he saw Kane turn pale and realized he was in physical distress.

Having been in the pilot for a medical show that had failed to make the network's line-up a couple of seasons after The Beavertons was canceled, he recognized the symptoms: too much oxygen and not enough carbon dioxide.

David didn't waste time looking for a paper bag in Benita's kitchen. Instead, he sealed the younger man's mouth with his own and let their breaths mingle.

For long minutes Kane's audible panting was the only sound that could be heard. And then suddenly the atmosphere became charged: he groaned and his mouth began to feed off his lover's. Lips and teeth and tongue. They devoured and suckled, bit and nibbled, mated and dueled.

The plans lay forgotten on the floor.

****

Benita slipped quietly past them and into her bedroom, softly closing the door behind her. She felt hot, her skin tight, an ache between her legs. The sight of her two friends so lost in their physical delight made her burn with desire.

She stood in front of the floor-length mirror that hung from her closet door and let the kimono slide off her shoulders to puddle at her feet. Her breasts were firm and high, the nipples hard points that begged for a man's touch. Her waist was narrow, her hips slim. Her body was well-suited for the form-fitting black leather she wore when she worked.

Her fingers skimmed her curves and she tipped her head back. The psychic's eyes drifted closed, dreaming of a warm, masculine hand that stroked her nipples, causing an arrow of sensation to spear down to the heart of her femininity, concealed by the black curls at the juncture of her slender thighs.

She had early on learned the manner of pleasuring herself. No man had ever brought her to that pinnacle. When she had been forced to turn tricks she had never wanted a man to get that close. And then when David had given her back control of her life, she had never felt the need for one.

This time things were different. This time she had the nagging impression that there might be more; that out there, somewhere, was someone who wanted her for herself alone.

No, not just some *someone*.

Guy!

*****

Kane was so bemused by David's proposal that he couldn't keep a thought in his head other than the simple one: "My lover wants to marry me!"

David smiled ruefully and folded up the blueprints just as the phone rang. The answering machine picked it up on the third ring.

Benita's voice could be heard on the machine. "This is your friendly, neighborhood psychic, and of course I know why you've called! But let's be conventional: leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you!"

"Umm, I hope this is the right number," a female voice said hesitantly. "I'm calling from Dr. Fortesceau's office. If a Mr. David McMillan lives there, would you please have him call us at..."

Before she could rattle off the doctor's phone number, David scooped up the receiver and spoke quickly into it. "This is David McMillan. How may I help you?"

"Please hold for the doctor."

David hated being put on hold. He hated it even more when it was his doctor's office calling and the health of his lover was on the line. Fortunately, the doctor didn't keep him waiting long.

"David, good news! The results of the blood tests are negative. Of course, you and your friend will need to come in again in six months time to be retested, but if the results come back negative again, you should be in good shape. Just remember to continue practicing safe sex, and try to keep
to a monogamous relationship, all right?"

"Monogamy is not a problem! This is such great news!"

"Yes, it is. Now don't forget to give us a call in six months. By the way, when are we going to see you on TV again?"

David's smile froze, but the question appeared to be purely rhetorical, as the doctor was bidding him a cheery good-bye and hanging up.

David stood looking at the phone as if it had suddenly sprouted fangs and might bite him at any second.

Kane, not having heard the whole conversation, became increasingly nervous. "David, what's wrong? *David*!" He grabbed his arm and shook it frantically as the older man continued to ignore him.

The jostling broke David out of his reverie and he ran a distracted hand through his hair. "Nothing's wrong, baby. We both test negative. He wants us back in six months for a follow up, and we'll need to keep using condoms until then. Which is like taking a shower in a raincoat!"

"I wouldn't mind if you don't want to use them, David," Kane said shyly. "I want to feel you come inside me!"

David swept him into a fierce embrace. "I'd like nothing better than to come inside you instead of a rubber, but you're too precious for me to gamble with your life like that! It's bad enough I let you suck me off without a condom!"

Kane grimaced. He had tried that once, at his lover's insistence, and the bitter taste of latex had made him gag. After that, no matter how the older man promised or threatened or cajoled, Kane steadfastly refused to blow him through rubber. Despite his youth, he could be as obstinate as David.

David sighed as he angled his head to mesh their lips together, the warmth of his breath washing over Kane's lips.

What started out as a simple, chaste kiss quickly escalated into something hot and hungry. Kane's fingers splayed against David's cheek, holding him while his mouth grazed on the older man's, nudging his lips apart, feeling the sharp edges of David's teeth on his own lips.

For long moments David let Kane have his way with his mouth, but then the excitement grew too dizzying and he seized the initiative, thrusting his tongue past his lover's lips, dueling, licking, mating, luring it into his own mouth to suckle.

Kane was trembling and shaking, his lower body rocking against David's, seeking relief for his engorged erection. David reached down and stroked him through his jeans, his grasp alternately gentle and rough. The combination proved too intense for the younger man, and he moaned into David's mouth as he began to come, his essence dampening his pants.

David felt his young lover's fingers through his trousers curling into the crevice of his buttocks, parting his cheeks, rubbing the small ring of muscle that he had claimed for his own. Kane pressed his finger against that spot and David's control started to unravel. He spread his legs wider, allowing Kane greater access, but also enabling him to cradle the younger man's now flaccid shaft against his own rampant erection.

"Harder, baby!" he ordered. "Harder!" And then he too began to spill himself into the loving hand that held him.

For long, delicious minutes they stood pressed tightly to each other, gently rocking in a slow dance of passion's aftermath. David was reluctant to separate their bodies, but a glance at the clock mounted on Benita's wall revealed the shortness of the time they would have before their evening shift at Salante's started.

"C'mon, baby, we need to shower."

Kane peered at his lover through the fringe of hair that feathered over his eyes. "And you'll take advantage of me in the shower, David? I love being taken advantage of!"

"Naughty monkey! We're definitely going to get some good toys for our new bedroom!"

Kane quivered in rising excitement. "What kind?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. But there's one thing we *have* to have: a fireplace!"

The younger man looked confused. "But David, there already is a fireplace in that house!"

David grinned and turned his lover in the direction of their temporary bedroom. "In the living room," he agreed. "I want one in our room. I plan to keep you naked all the time when we're there. And when your nipples are tight and hard, I want it to be because of me, not because you're cold!"

He ran a hand over Kane's chest, feeling his nipples through the material of his shirt, and groaned with pleasure. "Just like now!"

And he hustled his young lover into the shower, where despite his best intentions, he once again surrendered to the allure of Kane's sweet body.

*****

Salante's, on a Friday night, was crowded from the moment the doors opened until the last patrons trickled out.

Young marrieds, business couples, dating couples, those who were out cruising and those who stopped by for a late snack, suffering from the munchies all descended on Salante's this night to satisfy their hungers.

As the night progressed the crowd became more demanding, drunker and higher. And David became more irritable. For some reason he found himself on edge. His vaunted patience had vanished.

Kane watched as time and time again his lover prevented himself from snapping at a hapless customer only by exercising sheer willpower. Something was disturbing the man he loved.

It was up to him to find a way to lighten his mood.

Kane was in the pantry, busy folding napkins into decorative shapes when David approached, glowering. He had a fresh bottle of very expensive wine which his customers had insisted upon despite his warning that it would not complement their meal. They discovered he was correct, blamed him for their poor choice and were sending it back now.

His mouth a tight, white line, he could barely contain his anger.

"Fucking idiots!" he muttered.

Kane caught his eye. "I know who you are!" he whispered, leaning toward him, repeating the line he had used to initiate their first serious conversation.

David returned his look warily, his temper still simmering. "No, you don't!"

"You used to have a TV show!" Kane pressed cheekily.

"You've confused yourself!" And now David smiled, recalling Kane's tentative approach, aware of his ploy to relieve his tension.

"You played a kid named Toby!" he persisted.

"Nope!"

"You *are* David McMillan, right?"

"Discovered again!" And David waited to see if Kane would continue the conversation to its conclusion, forcing him to reveal his growing dissatisfaction with his job waiting tables. He had once told him snidely that he found the job more stimulating than acting.

"And you're the man I love!" Kane said in a quiet voice. He touched David's hand lightly and spun away to answer a call to refill the water glasses.

Feeling more relaxed, David watched him, a tender smile in his eyes. The red busboy's jacket Kane wore lovingly hugged his torso, the black slacks emphasized the length of his legs. His long brown hair, the chestnut highlights brought out by the lighting of the restaurant, was tied neatly back.

David suddenly itched to loosen that tie and run his fingers through the soft mass. A quick glance at the clock revealed there was still a couple of hours before their shift ended, when everything closed down.

But The Palladium would still be open. He could take Kane there, maybe show him one of the private rooms upstairs, maybe play with him.

Or maybe dance with him instead. They had never danced together.

David smiled and went back to his tables, feeling considerably lighter.

****

After their shift they decided to go to The Palladium where they stayed until closing time. David bought a pitcher of beer and they shared it in a secluded corner, their fingers stroking and entwining.

It was very late, or very early, depending on how you looked at that sort of thing, when David excused himself and disappeared for a few minutes. Kane stretched his feet out and slid down in his seat to rest comfortably on his lower spine. He glanced idly around the dance floor and the bar area and then abruptly bolted upright.

Bernie stood there, a slightly mad look in his eyes.

David approached him and punched him lightly on the arm. Kane could not hear their conversation. They stood chatting for a few minutes before David tugged gently on the lapels of Bernie's topcoat and Bernie turned to leave. David stood smiling after him, then went to join his lover.

Kane couldn't subdue a flash of jealousy. "Are you sure he's not gay?" he demanded.

David turned his attention back to his young lover. "Yes, baby, I'm sure. He's *not* gay. He's a friend. He's never been more than a friend."

Kane nodded shortly and David could see him relax.

And then the band played the last song, a slow, dreamy ballad. David pulled Kane to his feet. "Come on, baby. Come dance with me!"

"What?"

"That's where I was before I ran into Bernie; I went to ask them to play a song for us. Our song!"

David led Kane onto the dance floor. He took the younger man's arms and looped them around his neck, then slid his own low around Kane's hips and pulled him snugly against his body.

And they swayed to the sweet melody, lost in their own sensual haze.

/Wise men say only fools rush in.../

/But I can't help falling in love with you!/

*****

The three glasses of beer, after putting in a full night's work, had gone to Kane's head. David smiled at him indulgently and took the car keys. Tucking his young lover into the passenger seat of the black Porsche, David got in and turned on the ignition. Then he had to pause and fasten Kane's seat belt, for he had fallen asleep, his lips slightly parted, his breath sighing softly in and out.

Unable to resist, David pressed a brief kiss on the mouth that was a constant temptation to him. He stroked the brown hair back off Kane's forehead and cupped his chin. "I wonder if you'll ever realize how very much I love you, baby," he whispered.

Shaking his head in bemusement, David smiled and put the car in gear and headed back to Benita's apartment. As had become a habit, he drove past the house they had put a down payment on and were having remodeled. Doing it first because it pleased Kane, now David stopped for himself, because he was starting to get excited over the prospect of owning a home with his young lover.

It made him feel...connected, settled. Almost as if they were actually married. Instead of merely engaged. David fingered the ring he carried constantly. As soon as they were able to move in, he had every intention of placing that ring on Kane's finger. And after a suitable amount of time, however long that might be, he was going to marry him!

Humming happily under his breath, he admired the clean lines of the old Victorian, the way the porte cochere on one end balanced the wrap around porch on the other. Then he put the car into drive and continued on to their temporary home.

Parking the Porsche in the underground garage available to the tenants of the building, David turned to gently shake Kane's shoulder. Kane burrowed into the seat, mumbling, "Five more minutes, I promise! I don't want to go to school!"

Dismayed by this reminder of just how young his lover actually was, David walked around to the other side of the car, and reached in and slid an arm under Kane's knees. "C'mon, baby. It's time for bed!"

Still submerged in sleep, Kane's arms wrapped loosely around David. "Love you, honey man," he murmured as he nuzzled his nose against David's neck and settled deeper into his lover's embrace.

And an enormous grin split David's face. Kane might be dreaming of school, but he knew who was holding him, even in his unconscious state.

David shouldered his way into the building and waited patiently for the elevator. It was taking an inordinate amount of time, and his arms were starting to feel Kane's weight when it finally arrived. He was fumbling to press the button for Benita's floor when a middle-aged man dressed in robe and slippers barreled in with a Yorkshire Terrier on a thin leather lead. The little dog had a tiny pink ribbon in his topknot. He backed away, sat his rump down and began a high-pitched barking.

His owner punched the button for his floor and glared at the couple sharing the elevator with him, his lip curled in a supercilious sneer. He saw before him a well-built, good-looking young man dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans that were sinfully snug. In his arms was a...a boy! Long brown hair flowed over an arm that held him so securely, but he was quite definitely male!

And the boy was kissing the young man's throat! The middle-aged man harrumphed in disgust. "Well, I never!"

The discordant voice roused Kane from his drowsy state. He turned his head to look at the other occupant of the elevator and gave him a sleepy, satisfied smile. "Maybe if you had you'd be a much nicer person!" he said sweetly.

"You can be sure I will report this behavior to the board of tenants!" the other man huffed.

The elevator jerked to a halt and he stalked out, dragging the tiny dog after him. As the doors slid shut, David and Kane could here the barks fading in the distance. "I hate yappy little dogs!" Kane grumbled.

David bit back his laughter and gave him a shake. "You're going to get us into so much trouble! And Benita too, for letting us stay with her!"

"I'm sorry, David," Kane said, contrite. "I didn't think. Do you want me to find him and apologize?"

"No, then you'll get us thrown out for sure!"

"Oh. Well, I'm awake now. More or less. You can put me down."

David tightened his hold on his lover. "I don't think so. Can't you find anything more constructive to do with your mouth than to utter foolishness?"

"I love when you get forceful with me!" Kane said huskily and he leaned his head closer to get better access to David. He busied himself with licking a path from his lover's throat to the corner of his mouth.

The doors opened onto Benita's floor and the older man spared a glance to where he was placing his feet. Once he was sure he was headed in the right direction, his eyes closed and he blissfully let Kane feast on his lips and tongue.

Only when he walked into the door, hard, and was rudely brought back to the present, did David release Kane from his embrace. The younger man slid down his lover's body and leaned heavily against him while David fumbled through his pockets for the key.

The sun was just beginning to chase back the shadows and the living room seemed to be awash in a monochromatic color scheme. The two tried to be silent as they crossed the carpeted expanse, arms wrapped tightly around each other.

And then Benita's bedroom door was quietly opened. A figure paused and turned back to the darkness beyond. "A bientot, cherie," he called softly and pulled the door closed behind him. Gentle fingers touched the door briefly, and then he drew his shoulders back and prepared to leave the psychic's home.

He came to a dead halt when he saw the two lovers watching with interest as he tiptoed toward the door. Uncomfortable at being caught trying to slip out of Benita's apartment, he cleared his throat and gathered his composure. "McMillan. Kane," he greeted them shortly.

"De Villiere," David responded for the two of them. The two men were bristling like a pair of unfriendly dogs. Kane buried his face against David's jacket, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. It appeared there would be a standoff, and then Benita opened her door, having sensed
there was something going on in her living room.

"What's this all about?" she asked grumpily, not having gotten much sleep that night. David and Guy continued to glare at each other. "Fine, don't bother telling me, stare each other to death! Macho schmucks! I'm going to bed!"

The door slammed shut behind her, emphasizing her displeasure with everything that had happened that evening: her weakness in calling Guy to her, David almost catching him in her bedroom, and Kane finding the whole scenario amusing. She humphed and buried her head under a pillow.

Guy and David regarded each other sheepishly. David broke the silence first. "Sorry. If Benita invited you up, then I have nothing to say about it."

"No, you don't. It was her choice; it will always be her choice!"

They were back to glaring.

"Are you going to whip them out to see who can piss the farthest?" Kane asked with interest.

Two sets of eyes turned to scowl at him and he struggled to control his smirk. "I'm going to bed!" he laughed and disappeared into the room he shared with David.

"Benita's a big girl, and she can take care of herself. But remember this, de Villiere: she's my friend. Hurt her and you'll rue the day! I'll make you sorry your mother ever gave birth to you!"

The rich man relaxed. "Bravo, McMillan! Very theatrical! Have you ever thought of going back on the stage?"

Guy let himself out before David could think of a scathing enough retort.

David considered the closed door thoughtfully.

Why, all of a sudden, did everyone want him to go back to acting?

Why, all of a sudden, did he want that too?

*****

Twilight was fast descending on the city. Guy sat in his plush office, facing the glass wall that gave him an unobstructed view of the skyline. His feet propped up on a corner of the desk, he contemplated the stars that were just becoming visible. They looked like jewels carelessly spilled on a swath of dark blue velvet.

He would not be seeing Benita tonight. Other things needed to be done.

But perhaps this would provide the jolt she needed to accept him in her life.

Guy wanted her more than any other woman he had ever romanced. She was a quirky bundle of contradictions; a psychic, a dominatrix, a teller of urban legends. Her dark curls drove him wild with the desire to tangle his fingers in them, urging her mouth close to his.

The other night she had called him. "Guy, please, I need to see you!" And he had thought the battle won. She surrendered to him, but somehow, he was the one who was defeated.

She had gone down on him, giving him a blow job the likes of which he had never enjoyed before, and he had come harder than he ever came.

But then he realized that was what she considered it: a job. She had taken no pleasure from it, using it as a means to push him away emotionally. And he had been furious.

"You think this will get me out of your life?" he had snarled at her, unable to control his anger that she would hold their relationship so cheaply. He wanted more than sex from her. "Well, guess again, angel eyes! Treating me like a john isn't going to do it!" And his lips had made love to her
mouth, leaving her dazzled and breathless with unfulfilled passion.

Guy never went into a relationship without thoroughly researching the person he selected to be his lover, in spite of what he had told David. David believed him when he denied investigating Benita's background; Kane had not, and hadn't been afraid to tell him so, belligerently facing off
against him.

Guy was fully aware of Benita's past; he knew that before David had set her up in the apartment where she now lived, Benita had been a street hooker. He also knew that in spite of how she currently supported herself, she no longer turned tricks. In fact, she rarely touched any of her clients, only a select few who, for reasons of her own, she considered needy enough to warrant physical contact.

A knock that managed to convey a world of anger beat on his office door and drew Guy out of his reverie. "It's not locked," he called.

An older man stormed into the room. "Was it necessary to see me after business hours?" he demanded.

Guy swung his feet off the desk and rose gracefully to his full height. "You refused to meet with me at any other time." He shrugged. "I merely followed your dictates."

The words might sound conciliatory, but only a fool would accept them at face value. And in spite of everything he was, the older man was *not* a fool!

Waves of irritation emanated from him. "I'm not an errant schoolboy to be summoned to the headmaster's rooms, and I resent like hell your treating me as such!"

Guy's mouth stretched in a smile, but his eyes remained cold and flat. "If I saw you as a naughty schoolboy, believe me, you'd be face down over my desk right now!"

The older man's face darkened with anger ... and something else. "You have no right to speak to me in that manner!"

"Don't I? The size of my bank account says differently!" Guy approached the man who stood in the middle of his office. "Your son resembles you a good deal; are you aware of that?"

"That little fag? Of course I knew! It's one of the reasons I didn't throw the narcissistic bitch I was married to out on the street, along with that useless disappointment she whelped! That, and the birthmark Kane has on the inside of his left wrist!" He held out his hand to reveal a similar
marking.

Guy merely raised as eyebrow at that information, although he found it very telling. "Do you mean to say you didn't have a paternity test done?"

"Of course I did! Do you think I was born yesterday? I trusted my wife no farther than I could throw her!" Kane's father sneered at the man who represented all he desired for himself: a respected name, the wealth of the ages, and the approbation of The Community, the old money families of the city.

He had married into old money, but his wife's family had been too knowledgeable, and had tied up all the assets he burned to have in his possession. A trust fund had been set up for his son, who was now the only one with the authority to access it.

As if he would have raided it, he thought sourly, conceding that he'd have liked nothing better! If he could only have gotten his hands on it, he would have increased its value. He'd be living on easy street.

He totally ignored the fact that that already was his address.

Guy watched him with hooded eyes. "Your son loves you very much. He was devastated when you denounced him. He didn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"Yes, yes, you told me this the last time we met, and you coerced the keys of the Porsche out of me! As far as I am concerned, I have no son, not as long as he's living with that fruit of an actor!"

"And as long as you can't touch his money?" Guy examined his neatly buffed nails. "I have come across some very interesting information that insinuates you're trying to overturn the trustfund. That would leave your son penniless."

The older man looked uncomfortable. He was a miserable miser, but he had the sense to try and conceal it from The Community. If it was ever discovered how far he was intending to go to get at his son's money, he could very well be ostracized, and lose any standing he had with them.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Vraiment? *I* think you do. I want your word that you will leave the boy alone."

Chocolate brown eyes, so similar to the ones he had come to like, grew shrewd and canny. "Of course. I have no intention of doing anything to harm the boy, but you have my word!"

Guy cocked his head and watched the older man in amusement. "And you really think I'd believe anything you tell me now? Wealth is the be all and end all for men like you: amassing it, hoarding it, treasuring it more than a lover, as if it *was* a lover!"

His hand went to a button on his desk. In the quiet of the room, the lock on the door could be heard engaging. Kane's father jerked at the sound, and again his face flushed.

"What are you doing?"

Guy leaned back against his desk, his legs stretched out before him. "Nothing," he said innocently. "Not a thing!"

It suddenly dawned on the older man that, so late after working hours, no one else was in the building. He was alone with a man who had no reason to think well of him, who stood before him exuding sexuality. In spite of himself, he felt his cock harden, and he became panic-stricken.

"I must leave!"

"Must you?" Guy taunted softly, shrugging out of his suit jacket. His hands loosened the patterned school tie he wore with casual aplomb and then began working on the buttons of his silk shirt.

The older man felt his mouth go dry and nervously he licked his lips. "S--stop th--that!" he stuttered.

"Why? You know you've wanted to get your hands on me since I got those keys away from you! You want to put your tongue in my mouth, you want to suck my dick, you want more than anything to fuck my ass!"

Kane's father was gasping for breath, his eyes riveted on the fingers that were now lazily unfastening the belt around his adversary's waist. He watched, mesmerized, as the zipper slid down.

And then he took a step toward the younger man, fighting the urge, but helpless to resist it. Guy's cock stood out proudly from the wiry curls that clustered at his groin and he reached for it with hesitant fingers, the desire to stroke it, take it deep within his mouth and suckle it to completion almost overpowering.

With a tortured cry, he backed away, staring at Guy in horror. "No! I'm *not* like that! I'm not queer! I *don't* want you!"

The corner of Guy's mouth twisted in a complacent smirk. "Yes, you do! You want me so badly you can almost taste it, taste me! You want to show me who the dominant one really is, teach me a lesson for butting into your family business! You want to shove your cock up my ass and fuck me so hard I can't walk for a week! But you know what you want even more?"

Guy pushed away from his desk and began stalking the older man. His voice became a silken whisper. "You want *me* to do all those things to you!"

The older man was pulled into a brutal embrace. His erection was seized by clever fingers that teased it until it wept. Hard lips traveled up his neck, to settle on a spot just below the jaw and begin feasting on the flesh that was rough with stubble.

Ineffectual hands pushed against Guy's broad shoulders, striving to separate their bodies. "No..." the protests became weaker. "Please, no..." They changed to moans.

And then the hands tightened and pulled the younger man closer.

"Please...*Yes*!"

*****

Warm, demanding hands were cupping David's buttocks, exploring the cleft that divided them. His cock, deep in a hot, wet mouth, was being teased by a tongue that lapped the moisture beading at its tip. His hips undulated upward, seeking maximum penetration of that wicked mouth.

David smiled in his sleep and then moaned as a clever finger pressed against the ring of muscle that guarded the opening to his body. Sensation pooled low in his abdomen and his balls tightened, signaling the onset of a very satisfying climax.

And then the shrill of the telephone shattered the atmosphere, just as he was on the cusp of excessive pleasure. "No," David groaned. "No!"

He tried to recapture the heat and tingles that had been streaking along his nerve endings, but they were fading out of reach. "Damn! I'm sorry, baby."

It was only as he rolled over and fumbled for the phone that he came fully awake. "This had better be fucking important!" he snarled into the receiver.

For a beat there was only silence. Then a deep, masculine voice spoke. "McMillan?"

"Fuck! Is that you, de Villiere? Damn it, don't you ever sleep?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. However, it *is* noon, you know," he responded testily.

"Yeah, well, some people work nights!" David heard a muffled snort on the other end. "What did you have to tell Benita that couldn't wait until a civilized hour?"

"Sorry," Guy said again, somberly. "Benita's not the one I must talk to. I doubt if she's going to want to talk to me. This is really important. We have a problem. Is Kane there? I need to speak with him."

That was when David realized he was alone in the big bed he shared with the younger man. "Hold on, he must be in the other room."

He untangled himself from the bed linens. This developed into a more delicate process than he had anticipated, since the passionate grip of his dreams turned out to be the sheets wrapped snugly around his cock. By the time he was safely freed, his mellow mood had evaporated like mist on a warm day.

"Kane!" Guy could hear the irritation in his voice over the phone line. "Get your ass in here! The rich man's on the phone for you! Something going on I should be aware of?"

Guy winced.

David stalked into the other room. Maybe if they quickly resolved this tempest in a teapot de Villiere was concerned with, he could talk his young lover out of whatever clothes he had on, and into bed for some wild, sweaty, mind-boggling monkey sex!!

A lascivious smile curled David's lips and his eyes grew slumberous in anticipation.

Benita was just cleaning up after a rather messy session the night before, involving whipping cream and maraschino cherries. "Morning, David. Are you looking for Kane? He went out to run some errands for me. Is that Guy?" She felt a tiny leap of excitement and her stomach attempted to tie itself in knots.

David didn't hear her last, hopeful question. He was annoyed that he'd have to put his erotic plans on hold for the time being. David walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee. "Guy," he scooped up the wall extension and cradled it between his neck and shoulder. "Kane's not here right now. Want to leave a message with me?"

The response was so loud and staccato, David had to hold the phone away from his ear. "What? Where is he? When did he go out? How long has he been gone?" Guy barked the questions one after another, giving the other man no chance to answer them.

But the tension in his normally controlled voice had all David's senses on alert and he could feel the hairs on the nape of his neck standing to attention.

"What's wrong?"

"Find Kane and get him back to Benita's apartment as soon as possible. I'm on my way over. I don't have time to get into this right now! Suffice it to say, things *may* have gotten a little out of hand."

"What do you mean, 'a little out of hand'?"

"I had a... confrontation with Kane's father, and I think I may have pushed the bastard off the deep end!"

David suddenly couldn't catch his breath. He had seen up close and personal just how irrational the older man could be. "What did you do?

"I don't want to go into the details over the phone. I'll explain as soon as I get there!"

"Wait a minute! Is Kane in any danger?"

"Nnnno....I don't think so. I don't think it's likely. I... Just get him the fuck off the streets!"

Before David could question him further, Guy had hung up.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Benita watched in surprise as David ran past her into the spare bedroom. "David?"

He emerged with his shoes in one hand, trying to do up the buttons on his shirt. His trousers gaped open and his feet were bare.

"Here, let me help you." She took over buttoning him up while he tossed his shoes to the floor and stepped into them. Impatiently he waited for her to finish her task, then tucked in the tails of his shirt with shaking hands. "What did Guy say?"

"Guy says something happened with Kane's father. He says to find Kane, and get him back here immediately." For a second, David looked scared, as he considered all the possibilities that could be endangering his lover. "He says there might be trouble!"

The psychic suddenly felt lightheaded. "Did he say what the trouble was?"

"No." David was sliding his arms into his black leather jacket and heading for the door. His attention was suddenly arrested. "Are you getting a feeling?"

Benita pressed cool hands to cheeks that had abruptly flushed. "What?"

"Were you able to read him this morning?"

She shook her head. "No, this is something else." She didn't want to tell David that whatever it was, Guy was involved in it up to his elegant eyebrows. The psychic was drawing a blank on the young busboy, but her erstwhile lover's actions were coming through so strongly she was nearly bowed under the weight of it. Panic-stricken, she turned to David.

"The quad! Kane was going to the quad to pick up your laundry and I asked him to do some shopping for me too. Hurry, David! Please hurry!"

David didn't pause to question her. He bolted from the apartment and took the emergency exit to the stairs, not wanting to waste time waiting for the elevator.

The door slammed behind his back and Benita sank to her knees, burying her head in her hands. Guy was one of the most ruthless men she had ever met. So far she hadn't read anything in his aura that would cause her to fear for her own safety, but she had 'seen' things that he had done in the past. To competitors, to faithless lovers, to anyone who crossed him.

He had the money to back his actions, the indomitable spirit needed to head up his family's consortium. Those who thought his age made him fair game for takeovers quickly learned otherwise, to their immeasurable loss. And he had the audacity to bend the rules to suit his will.

The sound of her intercom startled her out of her musings.

"It's Guy," came the terse response when she thumbed the control.

Of course.

She didn't bother to acknowledge him, just buzzed him in and waited for him to arrive at her door.

Kane's father was not just bad, he was evil. She had sensed, through David's touch, what the man had done to his son, preventing him from attending his mother's funeral, destroying his possessions, devastating him emotionally.

She had also seen, although she was unsure if David was aware that he had broadcast it to her, the rapacious glitter in the older man's eyes as he had observed his son clad only in a thigh-length robe.

Guy had done something to Kane's father. Something physical. She could feel it.

Now, she had to ask herself, could she accept it?

*****

Kane sauntered through the area known as the quad, contentedly running his errands, never giving a thought to the way he looked. He had a mirror, but ignored what it told him. He was oblivious to the long, dark hair that curled around his shoulders, the soft chocolate brown eyes that viewed the
world soberly.

The happiness that radiated from Kane drew more than one pair of eyes toward him, appreciating the way his snug jeans hugged the curve of his sassy bottom and caressed a burgeoning arousal. His hair was loose around his face and shoulders and his eyes held a glint of excitement. He had someone waiting at home for him, and as soon as he finished picking up their dry cleaning and getting some things for Benita, he planned on luring David back to bed!

Having been raised primarily by servants, he had never known the unquestioning approval of his parents. His mother had been a hedonist who desperately sought the fountain of youth, and younger and younger lovers. His father was a ruthless Midas whose only goal in life was to amass
wealth, and still more wealth.

Neither had spent time with him, especially once he reached that coltish teenage stage. He finished high school, and his days morphed into a sea of monotony through which he aimlessly drifted. And then, by sheer chance, he had run across the one person who had meant anything to him in his formative years: Toby of The Beavertons.

Oh, it was actually David McMillan, the actor who portrayed him, but that was irrelevant. Toby was the one who showed him what family life could really be like, what values mattered, and that was all the lonely teen cared about.

Kane wrangled a job in the restaurant where the former actor was now working as a waiter. He became David's busboy, and before too much time had passed, he discovered himself passionately in lust with him. Kane began pursuing him, trying to impress him with his black Porsche, almost courting him. David refused to take his advances seriously, and lightly rebuffed him. But Kane kept coming back to him.

Until the night the older man took him to his psychic friend's apartment for a reading, gotten him high. David wanted his hands on Kane so badly he could almost taste it, but he told Benita to jerk him off. He saw it as exercising restraint. Kane saw it as the final betrayal.

So he refused to see David again after work, using the excuse that something had come up that he couldn't get out of.

David had gone to The Palladium seeking relief for the restless desire the younger man stirred in him. He was splitting a beer with Sal, a sometime lover, when he spotted a familiar, tousled mane of brown hair. Kane was on the lower level.

With a girl.

Unable to accept how deeply he cared for his busboy, awash in disappointment, David had bolted down the stairs and out of the trendy nightspot. Kane had followed him into the parking lot and they had quarreled. The heat of anger had transformed into the heat of desire. David had gone home with Kane and they had spent the night making wild, passionate love.

Starting that relationship had cost Kane the sole surviving member of his family. His father had denounced him as gay in front of servants, associates and acquaintances. He repudiated him, and Kane had felt as if his heart had been cut out.

David had been there for him, standing up to the old man, which no one had ever done before for Kane. And then he had taken him home. And cared for him.

****

Kane came out of the supermarket, his arms full of groceries and the dry cleaning over his shoulder. He was passing the Lite and Bite, the deli his friend Mike ran and on impulse he poked his head in the door. "Hey Mike!" he called.

The blond head jerked up and a broad smile split his face. "Hi Butch! How they hanging?"

"Primo, number one!" Kane laughed back at him.

"When am I going to see you again, kiddo?"

"You're seeing me now, Mike! Gotta go! David's waiting for me!"

He bounced back to the sidewalk and continued on his way. As he passed a nearby alley, a large hand grabbed his arm and yanked him in, and suddenly he was surrounded by a gang of punks dressed in baggy pants, their caps worn backwards. Kane's smile wobbled for a second, and then he firmed it. "Excuse me, please." He took a step to the side, but they moved with him.

"We got plans for you, rich boy!"

Kane tried to keep the fear out of his eyes. "Do I know you?"

"Nah, you don't know us, but your old man does!"

"My father?" he repeated stupidly. How was that possible? Kane's father would never condescend to speak with street kids.

"Yeah. Seems he's not happy with you, and he paid us to teach you a lesson!"

"What...could you teach me?" Kane asked cautiously.

"We're going to teach you how to go down on each and every one of us!" The groceries were pulled out of Kane's arms and thrown aside as the leader of the gang crowded him back against the wall, running his hands over the young man's crotch and squeezing. "I want you on your knees, bitch!"

Kane's breath had gone raspy and he glanced down in horror as the youth in front of him unzipped his baggy pants and pulled out his cock, stroking it tauntingly. He grinned, a snide curl to his lips, as he pressed down on Kane's shoulders. "Suck me!"

"No! I won't!" he gasped.

The gang was taunting him and tugging at his clothes as he fought desperately to protect himself.

And then an enraged roar froze the tableau in the alley.

The gang took one look at the blond at the mouth of the alley and began snickering. "We supposed to be scared of you, man?" the leader of the gang taunted. "We know all about you! You're as light in the loafers as this little fag!"

Mike's eyes narrowed and abruptly he relaxed. "You think, Chooch?"

The youth started at the use of his name.

"Oh yeah, *punk*! I know who you are! And your scumbag friends too! You want to be serviced?" He motioned to his chest with both thumbs. "You come to me!"

"You think you're Dirty Harry, man?" the leader jeered.

"Mike, no!" Kane cried.

"'Sokay, kiddo. You just stay out of the way!"

With a howl, the gang sprang toward the compact man who stood calmly before them. But Mike had only come to running the Lite and Bite in recent years. The crowd he used to hang with could have told the pack charging down on him that he wasn't a man to fuck with.

Mike had learned to fight in the mean streets, and he fought the only way he knew how: down and dirty.

Kane wasn't about to let his friend face this gang alone. Shouting in fury, he jumped on a random back and wound his legs tightly around his target's waist. He was pounding away on the hapless gang member, twisting his hands in the mohawk and yanking for all he was worth. Taking advantage of proximity, he bit down on a dirty ear, too focused to gag.

And then he was being pulled off and spun away from the fight. He turned with a savage growl, to find himself face to face with David. "Oh shit!" he said in a small voice. He was certain his lover would be furious with him.

"You want to tell me what this is all about, baby?"

Kane was afraid to meet the older man's eyes. He started uncontrollably when he felt gentle hands on his hair, straightening his clothes, and he finally dared a glance up.

David's eyes were frantic as he ran trembling hands over the younger man, making certain he was unhurt. And then he was holding him hard, kissing his cheek, murmuring in his ear.

"Mike!" Kane struggled to look around David, searching for his friend.

"He's okay, baby. He's just holding the leader for the police."

"David," he whispered shakily, "it might not be a good idea to get the authorities involved with this." His voice became even softer. "I think...my father may have had something to do with it!"

"What? Son of a bitch! Mike, forget about the cops!" David barked. "This is a family matter!"

The gang leader spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to sneer at them. Mike regarded him distastefully. "You want me to let him go?" he asked, incredulous.

David smiled, and the youth suddenly wished he hadn't taken the money from the old man. It had sounded like an easy way to make a hundred bucks, but now he was sorry the gang hadn't just fucked his ass and robbed him when they found him wandering in their turf.

'Oh, no. I want to know what Kane's father has to do with this. And so will Guy de Villiere!"

Mike let out a low whistle "You know him?"

"Let's just say he's a friend of a friend!" David rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and tossed it to Mike. "Wipe your nose, will you? You're bleeding all over your shirt!"

Mike grinned and hauled the gang leader up to his feet. "C'mon, asshole! You're going to see how the other half lives! Where we taking him?"

"De Villiere is meeting us at Benita's apartment. He met with your father, baby, and apparently all hell has broken loose. He was worried about you and he sent me out to find you and get you back to Benita's. Mike, I owe you, man. Big time! I'll never be able to repay you for this!"

"Hey, Kane's my friend. It's just lucky that I followed him!"

Kane raised his head from where he had been resting it against David's chest, listening to the reassuring beat under his cheek. "Why *did* you follow me, Mike?"

The deli man scooped up an iridescent blue teddy from the dirt in the alleyway. "You dropped this, kiddo!"

And Kane blushed bright red.

*****

Mike manhandled the gang-leader Chooch into the elevator. David and Kane were right on his heels.

The occupant of the elevator stood with gaping mouth, his eyes bulging at the sight of the blood that covered the unlikely quartet. At his feet the little Yorkshire Terrier yapped away, advancing and retreating.

David held on to Kane, still shaken by the attack on his young lover. "You're sure you're okay, baby? You're not hurt somewhere I can't see?"

Kane rubbed his cheek against David's chest. "I'm all right, honey man. But I just don't understand it! Why would my father want that gang to hurt me, like that?"

"What do you mean, 'like that'?"

"Umm." Kane didn't want to answer.

"They were just going to beat you up, weren't they?"

Kane urged David's head closer to his mouth. "They wanted me to...you know, take it in the face," he whispered, ashamed to admit that much, ashamed that they wanted much more.

"What?" David's voice reverberated in the elevator cab. "This piece of shit wanted to do what?"

The door slid open and the man who was in the cab with them reluctantly got off, fascinated in spite of himself, the little dog dragging along behind him.

They continued on their way up to Benita's apartment.

"Don't make me repeat it, David! I feel so dirty! He touched me and..."

Before Kane could continue, his lover's fist shot out and the gang leader took a solid blow to his face. There was an obscene crunching sound, and a gout of blood spurted from the damaged nose, spattering onto the floor.

"Jesus, David! Was that really necessary?" Mike complained.

"Yes, it was!" David spat out from between gritted teeth.

"Well, you could have waited until we were someplace less public!" he groused. "Someone's gonna have to come back here and clean this up!"

"Ask me if I care! I'm gonna kill the fucking bastard! Do you know what he was going to do to Kane?"

"I heard, man. I'm *not* deaf, you know. And you'll have to get in line. I have first dibs on this scumbag!"

By this time they had reached Benita's floor and dragged the young hoodlum to her apartment. David unlocked the door and they bundled him inside.

****

Guy had been pacing the floor, more worried than he wanted to admit to the psychic. Of course she sensed his distress, but she said nothing, simply offering him tea laced with whiskey, her competent hands trying to rub the tension out of his shoulders.

His head jerked up when he heard the key in the door and he started forward. David and Kane entered first, and he was relieved to see that Kane appeared unhurt, although his clothing was disheveled.

"Kane!"

The eyes that were raised to him had a bruised look, and Kane's throat worked as reaction set in.

Guy was alarmed that his actions had rebounded onto the younger man, which was the last thing he wanted. "David?" He needed reassurance that Kane was all right.

"Kane was attacked in an alley off the quad. Shit-for-brains and his gang grabbed him."

The gang-leader had not reached his position on the streets by backing down before what he perceived as a threat. More than one member had been forced to submit to his sexual domination. He had achieved his status by stomping the former leader into the ground, battering the youth so badly that he would spend the rest of his life sipping his meals through a straw.

His gang terrorized their portion of the city, randomly assaulting the old and young, the poor as well as those better off.

And *he* terrorized his gang.

Chooch, the name signifying his mule-like stubbornness in handling all manner of situations, suddenly found himself up against someone who was a genuine 'bad' man. A bad man to cross, a bad man to challenge, a bad man to have as an enemy! Although dressed in a manner he often derided, there was nothing 'gay' about the man confronting him.

"So, you were going to sodomize Kane?"

He struggled in Mike's grip, but the blond simply yanked the arm he held behind the gang-leader's back further up his spine, as if he wanted to wrap Chooch's hand around his neck. "Answer the man, ass wipe!"

"Or what?" Chooch challenged. "You can't do anything to me! The law won't let you!"

"This is the same law that you constantly defy?" Guy leaned back against a wall, relaxed. "You think that law will ever find out what goes on in this apartment? I can have you killed and your body disposed of. No one would ever think to question me or my friends."

"Is that supposed to scare me, fairy?"

If Chooch thought the epithet would upset de Villiere, he was sadly mistaken. Instead, Guy burst into laughter.

"You're funny, Chooch. You're a very funny guy! Maybe I won't have you killed after all! Maybe I'll do it myself! Now why don't you tell me what made you attack a friend of mine?" The last words were spoken in a furious snarl.

The look in Guy's eyes gave the gang leader pause. He wasn't afraid, he assured himself. He could *never* be afraid of a fruit in a suit! Still...

Ah, what the hell, he owed the old fuck who wanted his son debased nothing!

"Yeah, sure, I'll tell you. But not cause I'm a-scared of you!"

"No, of course not," Guy murmured. "Mike, why don't you give this maggot some slack?"

"Is that wise, Guy?" David asked, wary of the dangerous youth in their midst.

Guy took a length of wire from his suit pocket and wound it around his fists. "I think so. Chooch will tell us everything we want to know, or I will kill him, very, very slowly!"

And he smiled.

The gang-leader suddenly felt as if someone was dancing on his grave. Oh yes, this was a *very* bad man!

He began to talk.

****

David stood with Kane in his arms, the younger man's body shaken with tremors.

Mike returned from seeing the gang-leader off the premises. None of them trusted him enough to have him wandering unescorted through the building, so Mike had been elected to make sure the lobby door was securely closed behind him. He had pounded on him a little, just to get the point across that he did not appreciate his friends being attacked, before he had tossed him out.

The compact blond glared at Guy as he bounded back into Benita's apartment. "I hope your taste for revenge has been satisfied. You nearly managed to get Kane badly hurt. And I don't care how wealthy and powerful you are. If something bad had happened to Butch, I'd have come after you!"

Guy refused to take exception to what Mike said. He had to agree with him. If the young man had been assaulted as a result of the actions he had taken against his father, Guy would have been devastated.

He would have seen that everyone involved, including Kane's father, got an extensive tour of hell, but his conscience would have troubled him considerably.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am about this, Kane," he apologized. "If I had any idea that getting fucked would unbalance your father this much, I would have used another method to deal with him!"

Benita was the only one in the room who realized that Guy was speaking literally when he claimed to have fucked Kane's father.

****

The older man had finally begged for it, while Guy's cock was in his mouth, and Guy had seen no need to use any finesse on him. He had bared the older man's ass with hurtful fingers, and rolled on a lubricated condom as a matter of course, but foreplay had merely been a hard hand around his cock as Guy shoved roughly into him.

The older man's breath had whined from between his lips as the rhythmic thrusting of Guy's hips pounded against his ass. And when he had felt the hot liquid of the rich man's climax in his channel, he began spurting his essence against the desk Guy had bent him over.

His response toward being dominated was unexpected. He had turned toward the man who was his adversary with softened eyes. Until he had seen Guy distastefully cleaning himself off. That was when he had the sudden realization that what had just been done to him was what he wanted to do to his son!

His sense of who he was had precluded him from doing that once, but not any longer! Not since Guy had made him his bitch!

Guy had torn away the blinders that kept him from seeing this aspect of his nature. Carefully, making sure the wealthy man could not see what was behind his eyes, he adjusted his clothing.

A soft snick signaled the unlocking of the office door, and he gave the impression that he was whipped, slinking away until he was out of Guy's line of sight. Then he straightened up, and strode to the bank of elevators that would take him to the ground floor, wincing as his anus protesting the hurried movement after the vigorous fucking it had gotten.

Earlier, the older man had dismissed his driver upon arriving at Guy's office building, anticipating triumph, its taste sweet upon his tongue.

Now he was leaving in defeat, but that was only a temporary thing. An idea had taken root, and as soon as he carefully examined all of its ramifications, from every possible angle, he would put it into effect. He would have to be very careful, and make sure de Villiere never became aware of his plan.

But this would be even better than thwarting his adversary in business.

He began to walk, his aimless wandering taking him into one of the more dangerous sections of the city. And then he had found himself surrounded by a pack of dangerous young thugs, who threatened his bodily integrity.

And the final piece of his scheme tumbled neatly into place. Kane's father had smiled, and there was a hint of the unsettled about it. The gang backed away from him as he proposed a joint venture. He would pay them a hundred dollars each to attack his son sexually. There was no need for them to understand the reasoning behind his offer.

The older man licked his lips and his eyes glittered evilly.

Once Kane was defiled in that manner, the...person...he lived with would no longer want him.

But his loving father would!

*****

Kane was getting restless. Just recently promoted to the wait-staff, he was immensely proud of the white dress shirt with the French cuffs and the tuxedo trousers that was the uniform the waiters at Salante's wore. He brushed at an imaginary speck of lint on his sleeve and glanced impatiently at the clock.

His night shift at the trendy restaurant was over. All he wanted was to go home and go to bed. Preferably with his lover. But the men in his life, his lover and his friends, refused to allow him to travel through the city alone.

Ever since he had been attacked in the alley.

So he had to wait for one of them to accompany him home.

Tonight, Guy was taking Benita out on an honest to God date. Wining and dining her. Kane wondered if Guy was going to take her to one of the private dining rooms in Amore's, where David had taken him, in more than one sense, and he sighed. It was so romantic.

And David...

Well, David had made use of some personal time, and not come in to work. He had been doing that frequently. *Very* frequently, now that Kane gave it careful consideration. What was he doing? And ... with whom?

Was the handsome actor/waiter getting bored with his young lover, and looking for greener pastures? Before surrendering to his passion for Kane, before he had bent Kane over the pool table in his father's house that first time and made sweet love to him, gently invading his virgin passage, David had had a reputation as a heartbreaker, a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy, who had more notches on his bed post than there were grains of sand on the beach.

Was David about to resume his old habits? Was he going to leave Kane?

No. He couldn't. He had declared his intention of marrying the younger man! And Kane was determined to keep his lover no matter what. Candy, David's former roommate, had given Kane a hint of what to do, so that would put paid to the whole matter! And he just wouldn't dwell on it any longer.

Instead, he had best consider how he was to get home.

Mike was the only one available, and so he would do the honors tonight. The young man shot another look at the clock. Where the hell was he?

They all had to be over-reacting to that attack. Surely the danger was over by now? Kane had been overwhelmingly devastated when the thug Chooch revealed the extent of his father's involvement in the assault, but his father really *couldn't* have wanted ... THAT done to his own son! Could he?

No, of course not.

And everyone was worried for nothing! Kane nodded to himself. He was just going to take himself off to Benita's apartment and show them all that he could take excellent care of himself! After all, he was an adult now!

He patted his pocket to make sure he had the key, then slid into his leather jacket and let himself out the back door of the restaurant.

His black Porsche was not in the parking lot. Damn! David had taken it on his mysterious errand. For all his vaunted adult status, Kane didn't have enough cash on him for a cab. And it was after two; the buses had stopped running for the night.

He'd have to walk all the way home.

Kane swung around and headed down the sidewalk to the brightly lit thoroughfare. It was a pleasant night, and the walk wouldn't be a hardship. The air was crisp, with just a hint of winter in it. Suddenly, he felt good.

He'd wait up for his lover, if David wasn't already home, and then he would torment him until the older man realized there was no way on earth that he could live without him! Kane loosened the thong that kept his hair back from his face and shook the long brown strands free, just the way David liked it.

Excitement was fizzing in his blood now, like chilled champagne, and there was a jaunty bounce in his step. At the corner he waited for the light to change. A shout from the rear of the restaurant caught his attention.

"Hey, Butch, wait up!"

With arms akimbo, Kane turned to face his friend. "Well, hurry it up, Mike! I want to get home sometime tonight!" His eyes were bright with laughter.

He never noticed the car that pulled up behind him. He never saw the door open or the arm that reached out to drag him into the late model Mercedes.

But Mike did. His cry of warning came too late.

Kane had been abducted.

****

Mike was frantic. He beat on the door of Salante's, trying to get someone's attention. Finally, one of the cleaning crew cracked open the door. "We're closed man! Go 'way!"

"Please, I just need to use the phone!"

"What do you think this is, the freakin' travelers' aid? No can do, amigo!"

As the door was about to slam shut in his face, Mike shoved his foot in the way and grabbed the cleaning man by the soiled collar of his ratty tee shirt. "You know Kane, who works here? Well, he's been snatched, and if you don't let me in to call for help, I will reach down your throat and rip
your lungs out!" Mike was shouting in his face by this time. "Have I made myself clear, *amigo*?"

Shaken, the custodian raised his hands and backed away and Mike stormed in.

Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out a paper with pertinent phone numbers on it. The first one he dialed got him through to David.

"Major trouble, man! Kane's been taken. Meet me outside of Salante's as soon as you can!"

He hung up on David's frantic queries and punched in another number. This was one that many in the business world would gladly kill to posses: Guy de Villiere's private cell phone number.

The connection was established on the first ring.

"What is it?" Guy barked.

"It's Mike. Kane's been snatched. I'm at Salante's."

"We're on our way!"

Mike let himself out of the restaurant and began pacing the parking lot, chewing the toothpick between his teeth to splinters and running his hand through his blond hair. By the time David got there, Mike's hair was so disheveled he looked as if he had gone backwards through a hedge.

The former actor bounded out of the Porsche, leaving the keys dangling in the ignition and the motor idling. "Where is he? What happened? Why the *fuck* weren't you with him?"

Before Mike could answer, Guy rolled into the lot and coolly exited his own vehicle. Benita was at his side. She went to David and put a calming hand on his arm.

"David, beating Mike senseless will not bring us closer to finding Kane." She gave him a shake. "Control yourself!"

"Yeah, well, where the fuck were *you* McMillan?" Mike demanded hotly. "You missed another shift! If you had been here, he wouldn't have been out on the street by himself!"

David's eyes turned blind with distress, and Mike had the grace to look abashed. "I..."

"Never mind!" Guy said shortly. "We don't have time for recriminations!" He flipped open his cell phone and made a call. "What do you have for me?" he asked, putting the call on speakerphone so everyone could hear the conversation.

"I've been following the old man's car as you requested, sir. A couple of his people took it and were watching the restaurant where the young man works. They grabbed him about half an hour ago and brought him to the office building that houses the old man's business."

"Has anyone left since you took up your position?"

"No, sir. No one else has come in either."

"Very well. Thank you. Stay there and continue watching. If Kane is taken from that building, I want you to tail them and get in immediate contact with me. You have this number. In the meantime, I'm on my way!"

"Yes, sir!" The connection was severed and the speaker settled back to continue his surveillance.

He had no idea why the old man put the snatch on his own kid, but he wouldn't want to be in his shoes for all the tea in China! When *his* boss spoke in that clipped manner, it usually meant someone was going to get it up the ass!

He shuddered, glad he was not on the receiving end of that contained anger.

"David, you and Mike go in the Porsche. My Lamborghini is too snug for the four of us. You know where the business is? The old man's apartment is in the penthouse of that building. It's my bet that's where he'll have Kane!"

David shook his head, fear gripping his gut. "Kane may have mentioned the address, but I can't remember it."

Guy got behind the wheel. "Follow us, and stay close, I won't be stopping for any lights!"

The sexy silver sports car leaped forward into the street, the black Porsche hard on its ass.

"Guy, how are we going to deal with this?" Benita asked, nervously tearing at a thumbnail.

"Trust me, ma petite. Trust me!"

*****

The older man cast an acerbic glance at the figure that was lying helpless on the loveseat.

What an ironic name for that particular piece of furniture.

The idiots he had designated to do this job had proven to be incompetent to the nth degree. When he instructed them to use any means necessary to bring his son to him, he had not the least inkling that they would actually render the boy unconscious by using a sap on him.

Those fools would pay dearly for their bungling.

He had been relishing the fantasy of his son dragged before him, begging and pleading for mercy. He would wrap his fingers in that long, brown hair and drag that tempting mouth under his own. And while he ravaged those lush lips, his other hand would be busy stripping the trousers from the lissome form, and fondling what heretofore had been forbidden to him.

He growled under his breath and stroked his arousal through the material of his slacks.

Well, that was still to come. It was merely a matter of delaying gratification. Meanwhile, he would just have to maintain some semblance of patience.

The trickle of blood that seeped sluggishly from the wound in his son's scalp caused him to curl his lip and walk away from the gory sight. There was a decanter of Dewars on the credenza. He poured himself a couple of fingers of the fine scotch and settled into a cushioned chair to wait for his son to regain his senses. The alcohol warmed its way down to his cock, and he closed his eyes, once more enjoying the vision of Kane on his knees before him, only this time, he was using his mouth for something other than begging.

****

The elevator to the penthouse was secured for the night. There was no way the quartet could get up there through that venue.

But there is always more than one way to access an upper story.

A thin strip of light was visible from under the closed doors of the executive offices that belonged to Kane's father, indicating that someone had either come in exceptionally early, or had stayed exceedingly late.

Guy cautiously tried the knob, and was surprised when it turned easily in his hand.

The woman who was seated at the desk started in panic when she realized she was no longer alone in the suite of offices. Her head jerked up, and Guy swore silently.

Her eyes were red and swollen. Mascara had run down her cheeks. What he first took to be her lipstick, smeared over her chin, he discovered was blood from a badly cut lip. A palm print stood out in stark relief on her cheek.

Her blouse hung open, the buttonholes ripped and buttons missing. One cup of her bra was torn, revealing a breast covered with bite marks.

She grabbed for a tissue and blotted her face, making a futile effort to cover herself. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. You would do well to help me. And in return, I will help you."

"How can you help me?" she responded bitterly.

"I'm de Villiere!"

She moaned and buried her head in her hands.

"Who did this to you?"

"Who do you think? That son of a bitch I work for!"

"Kane's father?"

She nodded.

"Help me and I'll see that he pays!"

The blue eyes she raised to his burned fiercely with the need for revenge. "Anything!"

She rose to her feet and haltingly came from behind her desk. Her skirt was askew and her pantyhose had been shredded. "I'll need to make some repairs. Just tell me what you want me to do!"

Guy watched with compassion as she limped to the washroom. Blood streaked the backs of her legs. He was about to ask what the bastard had done to her, but then decided it would be too cruel, too prurient to make her go into the details.

"Do you want me to call a doctor?" he asked.

"No, I'm not as badly hurt as it might look. We've done this before, although never to this extreme. He didn't prepare me this time." A sob caught in her throat. "I'll be all right."

She returned to her office, her face wiped clean and her hair once more in order, her clothing rearranged. A new pair of pantyhose covered her legs.

A very resourceful woman, the old man's executive secretary!

"Now, what do you want me to do?"

****

Kane's head hurt. His hand found the lump under his hair, and came away wet. He opened his eyes to see what caused the dampness, and winced, as the light seemed to knife through his pupils.

His stomach roiled and he clamped his lips together.

"Ah, you're with us once more, my boy! Don't try to pretend you're still unconscious! Open your eyes and look at me!"

"Papa? What's wrong? Why is my head bleeding?"

"Those feebleminded cretins who brought you here didn't understand the meaning of the word 'moderation'! The fools!" he muttered under his breath.

"Where am I, Papa?"

"You're in the penthouse apartment. And I don't want you to call me that anymore! From now on *I* am going to be your honey man!"

"What?" Suddenly it all came back to Kane, the attack in the alley, the fact that it had been instigated by his own father, and now his abduction. He bit down hard on his back teeth.

"You're going to be mine, boy! *I'm* going to be the one fucking your ass from now on! And no one will do anything to stop it!"

"David won't..."

"That promiscuous fag? He's just going to think you want to experiment with all the varied pleasures that are available to a pretty boy like you!"

"No!" Kane shook his head, and then moaned as the motion made him increasingly nauseous. "David knows I would never leave him!"

"Perhaps, but that's not what he'll think when he gets the note from you!"

"I'm not sending him any note!"

"Oh, you might not *personally* write it, but Miss Winstead is quite good at copying another's handwriting. And I have quite a few examples of yours handy. Trust me, dear boy! David will want nothing more to do with you when she gets done. I will see to that!"

The older man approached the loveseat and Kane shrank back, afraid of what his father was going to do. The brown eyes that looked back into his were no longer quite sane.

"I never would have dreamed of doing this to you, do you know that? You have your friend de Villiere to thank for my change of attitude! Did he tell you what he did to me?"

Kane shook his head and winced again. He didn't want to know what the ruthless businessman had done to drive his father past all acceptable boundaries, but even less did he want his father to put his hands on him. "What did Guy do, Papa?" he whispered through clenched teeth.

"I told you *not* to call me that!" the older man shrieked. His hand shot out and Kane's head rocked back as his father's palm connected violently with his cheek. "There now, see what you made me do, you naughty boy!" The suddenly playful tone of voice frightened Kane more than anything else.

Turning to glance casually around the room, the older man spotted the chair he had been seated in and pulled it close to the loveseat. He settled himself comfortably and leaned toward his son. "You see, I never wanted a male lover. Not consciously. But then de Villiere forced me to go down on him. And when that wasn't enough, he sodomized me!"

Kane's chocolate brown eyes were agonized. His father was clearly insane! Guy would never do that!

"Oh, don't be horrified, dear boy. I quite enjoyed it, once I got over the shock of having another man's penis in my ass. In fact, I thought the experience might be even more rewarding if it was *my* penis in *your* ass! And then I thought what it would feel like if you took me in that sweet mouth of yours!

"And you know, it doesn't even matter if you call me 'daddy'. I've heard that you sometimes referred to your former lover that way! Just don't call me 'papa'!"

The older man inclined his head forward, his gaze fastened on his son's mouth. "Kiss me, sweet boy, kiss me!" His voice was hoarse with desire.

Kane's eyes grew huge, and an expression of misery crossed his face. He turned his head away.

His father gloated at the distress he was causing the younger man, and he reached for his lips.

And then Kane relaxed his jaw and whipped his head around. The rapid motion upset his already queasy stomach and set in progress a specific chain of events.

As his father brought his face closer to his own, Kane lurched forward and began emptying the contents of his stomach all over the older man's very expensive, very exclusively made, very alligator shoes!

*****

David felt as if his heart was being ripped out. His lover was behind that closed door, alone with a man who should only have his well-being at heart, but who in fact wanted to abuse and defile him.

He tore at a cuticle, and felt blood begin to drip down his finger. David looked at it blankly, then stuck his finger in his mouth and sucked on it. The bleeding stopped almost immediately. And he began worrying another cuticle.

Mike gripped his arm in passing, and continued pacing the corridor.

"What are they *doing* in there?" David hissed.

"Have patience, David!" Benita advised.

"Goddammit!" he spat. "You wouldn't say that if it was your lover in there with a pervert!"

"Guy will get him out of there! Trust him!"

"Why should *I* trust him? Do *you*?"

Her eyes widened and she stared at her friend in shock. "I do!"

"What?"

"I do trust him!"

"How the fuck did that happen?" David demanded.

She shrugged helplessly. "I...don't know! He must have sneaked up on me when I wasn't looking!"

Knowing how lost she was feeling, David put his arms around her and hugged her close. "Falling in love is a bitch, isn't it, Nita?"

Benita gave a spurt of laughter and leaned into him.

And Mike continued his pacing.

****

Miss Winstead's task was to distract the older man. "But I felt sure you would love some of this Dom Perignon '64, mon ange!" she cooed. "After all, this is a special occasion, is it not?"

For a moment, confusion filled her sometime-lover's chocolate brown eyes. "It is?"

She nodded toward where Kane was slumped on the loveseat, his face bearing a palm print that matched the one on her cheek. "You've wanted to do this for such a long time, mon coeur! Here, a glass of champagne to celebrate?"

The confusion left his eyes. "Fucking bitch! I *fired* you! Get your ass out of here and leave me to the boy!" he turned away from her.

"Ah, ma vie, you no longer wish to make love to me? I'm just so *fucking* devastated!" With a lightning-like move, her hand shot out and she jabbed his buttock with a syringe.

"What have you done?" the older man howled.

"Nothing but what you've deserved for a very long time!" Guy spoke softly as he emerged from the shadows.

"De Villiere! What are you...how did you..." Kane's father found his tongue was becoming tangled in the simplest of sentences.

"Get him out of here!" Guy nodded toward Kane, and the executive secretary got an arm around him and urged him to his feet.

"Come on, sweetie, you don't need to be here for this!" She paused as they reached the door. "Do him a violence, M. de Villiere! Make him pay!"

The two walking wounded left the room, she making sure the door was firmly closed behind them.

****

David let Benita go so quickly she staggered. He reached his lover and had him firmly in his arms before she could regain her balance. The psychic smiled ruefully and looked away to give the pair a modicum of privacy.

The older man fussed over Kane, murmuring in dismay over his blood-soaked hair and the bruise on his cheek. "Are you all right? How badly did him hurt you? Oh, baby, I was so worried about you! I'm so sorry this happened!"

"It wasn't your fault." Kane's voice dragged with weariness. "I wasn't careful. I just couldn't believe he would do something like that to me. I mean, it isn't as if he ever even liked me. He always ignored me!"

Gentle fingers ran through his hair. "Oh, you may have thought he was ignoring you, but he used to watch you! This past year or so, whenever you would come up to the office, I saw the way he looked at you." Miss Winstead stroked the curve of his cheek. "My angel!"

"That's what you called my father!"

She grimaced. "He insisted on those French endearments, don't ask me why. You'd better sit down, Kane. I think you may have a concussion."

"I should have thought of that myself!" David castigated himself. "I want that cut on your scalp looked at, baby."

"You're not going to take me to the hospital, are you, David?"

"Kane, if I have to drag you kicking and screaming, I'm going to make sure that you see a doctor!"

"Mr. McMillan!" The executive secretary was shocked at his seemingly brutal words.

Kane laughed, and then flinched as pain speared through his head. "It's all right, Miss Winstead. I know David loves me."

His lover scowled at him. "Then why won't you mind me? You *need* to see a doctor!"

Kane glared right back at him. "You're not my father!" he retorted.

"No! I'm your dad-dy!"

Kane's eyes clouded and David became panicked. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"*He* wanted me to call him that!"

"Shit!" David wanted to take the older man apart with his bare hands. "Baby..."

Kane was reliving that frightening moment. "He hit me when I called him Papa, but he said he would be my daddy, because he knew I called you that sometime. But David," the younger man looked confused, "*I* never called you Daddy!"

"Your father has ears all over the city, Kane," Miss Winstead said wearily as she took a seat in one of the settees in the lobby of the penthouse suite. "He'd have found out everything he needed to know, no matter what it took, or how much it cost him."

Unintelligible cries suddenly erupted from behind the closed door. For a moment they became understandable. "No, please! Get away from me! Leave me alone!" They rapidly escalated into screams of unholy terror. "Jesus God, help me! No! No...NO!"

The crescendo abruptly ceased, and the group in the lobby regarded each, other highly shaken.

Mike wiped a hand across his mouth. "What the fuck was that?"

The door opened and Guy looked out. "Ah, Miss Winstead. You're still here. Excellent! I hate to impose, but I believe we'll need a mobile crisis unit on the scene, if you would be so kind as to call for one?"

The composed executive secretary approached her former employer's deadly adversary. She glanced over his shoulder into the room beyond. Huddled in a corner, cowering, Kane's father had his head buried in his arms and was gibbering incoherently to himself.

Her blue eyes met dark ones that were merciless, and in spite of herself, she shuddered. "I think, perhaps, it might be better if I got in touch with Doctor Schoenfeld, his psychiatrist."

Kane whirled around in surprise, and then gasped in dismay as his stomach heaved from the sudden movement. He swallowed hard and began breathing shallowly through his mouth. "I didn't know my father saw a shrink!"

"He didn't." The soignee woman had the grace to look ill-at-ease. "It was for your mother. He wanted to have her committed, but she died before he could do that. But this psychiatrist is on his payroll, and it would behoove him to act expeditiously."

David went to offer Kane what comfort he could, but the younger man brushed past him and went up to Guy de Villiere. "Is my father crazy?"

"Like a shit-house rat!" Mike hissed under his breath, but fortunately his friend didn't hear him. He was concentrating on the other man.

"I'm not in the medical field, Kane. I could hardly diagnose anyone." Guy had forgotten that Kane grew up in the same circles as he, and was unafraid to challenge him.

"Take a guess, rich man!"

Guy paled. He liked Kane, and hated to hear him use the epithet Benita was wont to hurl at him when she was trying to keep him from getting close to her. He could never tell the young man that his father had been injected with a psychosis-inducing drug that pushed him over the edge.

Or that Guy's seduction of him had driven him to that point.

Guy would never be able to forgive himself for the actions that had placed Kane in such potential danger, and that was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

Confession might be good for the soul, but his soul was going to have to do without it. Never could he tell the younger man that he had literally fucked his father. It had been with the purest of intentions, but Guy was well aware that he had just laid another yard of cement paving the road to hell.

He could never tell Benita, either. If she knew his questionable actions, she would sever any connection with him so fast he didn't think he'd be able to survive it. And that was not a chance he was willing to take.

But Guy had badly miscalculated.

He didn't need to say anything to the psychic. Each time she touched him, she was able to read him, more and more clearly. She knew what he had done to Kane's father. She had known from the day after, when Kane had been attacked in the alley off the quad.

And it didn't matter. Who he was, what he did. His heart was linked unalterably with hers.

He had wanted her, had burst into her life determined to make her acknowledge him, make her his. He had battled her to a standstill, but that battle was over now. Finally.

He just didn't know it.

And she was the winner.

*****

The door slammed shut behind the young man, and Benita winced at the force of it. David was late again, and Kane had no choice but to leave for work without him.

This made four out of five nights that the former actor had not shown up in time for the drive to the restaurant where he waited tables. Kane feared his lover was in danger of losing his job, although Jacques, the manager, seemed unconcerned about the repeated absences.

But what was worse was that the younger man feared *he* was in danger of losing his lover.

It had been some time since his father had been hospitalized after the kidnapping and assault, and not once had David tried to make love to him. Oh, he held him, and cuddled him, but each time Kane attempted to initiate anything physical, David shied off, citing work, or...other things.

Kane got into his black Porsche convertible and carefully inserted the key into the ignition with hands that weren't quite steady. David meant more to him than any other person in the world. He would do whatever it took to keep him in his life.

A horrid thought insinuated itself into his mind. What if David no longer wanted to be in his life? What if he thought Kane was too high-maintenance, too needy, too much trouble?

The younger man swiped a sleeve across his eyes and sniffled inelegantly. If David had been there, he would have smiled and handed him his handkerchief, making a teasing remark about his youth.

But David was not there.

Kane had to drive to work alone.

****

His shift was half over when the recently promoted waiter spotted a familiar face. "Candy!" He was surprised to see her at the trendy restaurant. She had always complained that the clientele was too upscale for her taste.

"Hi, Kane. How are you?"

Although he had known David's former roommate for a number of months now, he still wasn't quite comfortable with her. But she was his lover's good friend, and she accepted that the relationship she once had with David was over. Candy and David had been lovers, a long time ago. For about two seconds, according to David, long enough for him to accept that making love to a woman was just not for him.

But Candy could never quite let go. Even when David told her there was no chance of them ever becoming anything more than friends again.

"You don't look too good," she commented, regarding her friend's lover closely.

Kane's chocolate brown eyes turned bittersweet. "Thanks."

"No, seriously! You look like you haven't been sleeping well. What's wrong?"

He was reluctant to discuss this with the woman who was essentially the fifth wheel in his relationship with David, but he needed to talk to someone. Anyone.

Benita was too involved with Guy de Villiere, the wealthy man who was determined to make his way into her life. His friend Mike would just scowl and threaten to beat the crap out of David.

And David...just wasn't there!

"I ...I've got a few minutes; let me tell Jacques I'm taking a break!"

Candy smiled as the young man hurried to find his boss. She knew David would never be hers again, but it had been a long, dry spell between lovers. Jeri, the grade school teacher, and her only experiment with an alternate lifestyle, and Robert the bartender who couldn't decide if he was married or not, were in the past. There was nothing to occupy her spare time, except to think up ways to cause some mischief.

Oh, she meant no harm, she assured herself. She just wanted to amuse herself until something turned up to take her mind off the fact that her bed was exceptionally lonely these days.

Kane returned with a white wine for the young woman, and a beer for himself. Candy took a sip and waited with growing impatience for Kane to unburden himself.

Finally, "Look, Kane, if you don't want to tell me what the problem is, I have a deadline tomorrow and I really need to get home!" As she hoped, that gave Kane the nudge he needed and he began to pour out his woes.

David was seldom at home these days; he was late for work or skipping shifts completely. And worst of all...

Candy couldn't deal with a distraught male! She shifted uneasily in her seat.

Kane couldn't bring himself to tell her that David hadn't made love to him in weeks. Instead, his breath hitching in his throat, he pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket.

Carefully, he placed it on the table between them and began to unfold it. Now that Candy was certain the young waiter wasn't about to break down in her presence, she leaned forward and examined the square of material intently.

Saved within its folds were four strands of very blond hair.

"Yeah, so?" Candy asked crossly, disappointed that nothing major was revealed.

Kane lost his temper. "The last time I looked, Candy, I was *not* a blond!"

"Ohhh!" Candy's eyes lit up with understanding. "You got these hairs off David's clothing?"

Miserable, the young man nodded reluctantly. "What am I going to do?"

She couldn't believe she had been handed such a priceless opportunity. Mentally she was rubbing her hands together and jumping up and down. "You really want my advice?"

Once again, Kane nodded.

"Okay, then I'll tell you what *I* would do if I found hair that wasn't mine on my lover!"

****

David was nervous. The house he and Kane had been having remodeled was finally finished and they had invited everyone they knew to the housewarming.

The first floor had been thrown open and all their friends were wandering through the rooms, commenting on the lush decor and homey elegance.

Except for Bernie, who left a message on Candy's machine that he had been sent out of town on business and would be unable to attend.

When Candy called to pass on the message, David was relieved. And ashamed that he was relieved. He didn't question the fact that Bernie's company never sent him anywhere for any reason.

All extraneous thoughts were pushed from his brain. Where was Kane?

This was an event they had been looking forward to for months. As kind as Benita had been in allowing them to stay in her apartment until the house was ready, both David and Kane wanted their own home.

David, especially, had plans to take his younger lover in every room of the house, starting with the conservatory, which also contained a pool large enough to swim laps in. He had visions of stripping Kane naked and going down on his knees before him, worshipping the sweet flesh between his thighs that had been increasingly unavailable to him.

For the young man had been acting strangely in the weeks since his father's attack, and David's level of anxiety was rising higher and higher. What would he do if Kane was so traumatized by those events that he no longer wanted a male lover? What if he no longer wanted to commit to the actor?

David held a ring box in his hand and popped it open. He spared a glance at the ring in its nest of amber velvet, then irritably snapped the lid closed, repeating this process a number of times, before Benita lost patience and snatched it away from him.

"Stop playing with that thing, David!" she ordered. "What's the matter with you?"

He took her arm and let his emotions pour through to her. The psychic staggered back. De Villiere, who was never far from her side these days, caught David's wrist and flung it away from the woman he cared most about. She angled her slight frame between the two men and elbowed Guy. Because she was shorter than he was, it caught him in his diaphragm and he 'oofed' as his breath was driven out.

"Stay out of this, Guy; this is not your concern! Why do you think Kane doesn't love you anymore, David?"

"Well, where is he now?" the actor demanded.

Benita was not about to admit that her friend might have a point. She hadn't seen much of Kane; he had been making himself exceptionally scarce in recent days. And he was nowhere in the house that evening.

Just then the door was flung open and a blast of icy air swept through the foyer, ushering in Candy, and the object of their discussion. Kane wore his black leather jacket, but his nose was red from the winter cold. On his head, clashing violently with the color of his nose, was a chartreuse and eggplant ski cap, drawn down to his eyebrows.

"Where have you been?" David snapped.

"Hi, David!" Candy chirped as she leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh, hi, Candy," he replied distractedly, kissing her in return.

Kane turned his back on his lover and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it in a walk-in closet that most people mistook for a sitting room upon first finding it. He ignored David.

"Kane!"

"WHAT?" Kane shouted back at him, at the end of his tether.

Their interested friends took a giant step back.

David grabbed his lover and shoved him into the closet, closing the door firmly behind them and snapping on the light. "Do you realize how late it is? Everybody's ready to leave! They've been wanting to see you all night!"

"So ask me if I give a fuck!"

David felt as if he had been attacked by a kitten.

In spite of his bravado, Kane's insides were tied up in knots. Their relationship was on the line, and if Candy's advice didn't work, he didn't now what he was going to do.

"You've been acting really weird, Kane!"

"I've* been...?" Kane pulled off the ski cap and flung it at the man he loved. "You're never home anymore! You haven't made love to me in I don't know how long, and you accuse *me* of being weirded out?"

David's mouth dropped open and he couldn't say a word. He stared in shock at his lover. His very *blond* lover. Gone was the long brown hair he loved to wrap around his fists as he pleasured the younger man.

"What did you do?" he whispered hoarsely. He grabbed Kane's arms. "What the *fuck* did you do?" David punctuated each word with a harder and harder shake.

Kane was scared; he hung helplessly in the older man's grip. David's reaction was not what he expected. He had thought going blond would win his lover back.

But the results of the hair dye that Candy used were not what the box promised. Instead of a soft, golden color, his hair was now yellow.

Not blond, not flaxen like the strands he had pulled off David's clothing, but bright, *bright* yellow. When Candy had removed the towel she used to dry his hair, he had only just prevented himself from weeping. It was a disaster!

And it was becoming more and more obvious that David concurred with that. He was so angry he was almost vibrating with the effort it took to control himself.

A single tear rolled down Kane's cheek.

"Oh, no you don't! Tears aren't going to soften me! Don't even *think* I'm going to let you get away with this! What possessed you to do such a goddamned, *stupid* thing?"

"These!"

David's eyes crossed trying to see what Kane shoved under his nose. He jerked his head back and the long blond strands came into focus. "Where did you find that?"

Kane swiped the tears with the heel of his hand. "Where do you think? Off that white shirt I got you for our two-month anniversary! How could you, David?"

"How could I what? Don't start pushing the blame off on me! I'm not the one who bleached his hair!"

"You wore *my* shirt to see someone else!"

"What?" Ahhh. So that was the problem! It was starting to fall into place.

David had needed something especially nice when he went to audition for a new play by an up-and-coming playwright, and he had worn that for good luck. "Baby..."

Before David could explain, the younger man threw himself into his lover's arms. "You haven't called me baby in weeks, David! I thought you found someone else! I thought you didn't want me anymore!"

All thoughts of an explanation fled. David was suddenly so hard he was trembling. He tightened his arms and bent his knees slightly to accommodate his shorter lover. His lips found Kane's and pressed until that lush mouth opened to admit him.

Soft moans spilled from Kane's mouth into David's, who swallowed them eagerly. "You're mine, baby! I'll never want anyone else!"

Kane tore his mouth free long enough to catch his breath. "You haven't touched me in so long!" He rubbed himself frantically against his lover's arousal. Deciding that breathing, at this point, was unimportant, he went back to kissing David ravenously.

"I was afraid it would bring up bad memories..."

"Nothing you do to me would be bad, David, don't you know that?" He seized his lover's lips and kissed him some more.

David decided that this was much better than trying to be noble. He just wasn't cut out for the far, far better thing shit. Later he would find out whose bright idea it was for Kane to color his hair. They would deal with the whole misunderstanding, later.

Much later.

*****

Kane had no idea where his lover would take things. He knew David was shocked that he had colored his hair, and he knew he would be furious when he learned that it had been done in a desperate attempt to win his lover back.

An attempt that now seemed futile, in that he was never in any danger of losing him!

David stripped the younger man bare, whispering in iambic meter, "'I am ashamed that men could be so simple, to offer war where they should kneel for peace!'" He snapped a set of conveniently placed handcuffs on the unsuspecting Kane. In a voice dark with desire, he continued, "And you *are* going to kneel before me, aren't you, baby? But only after I finish fucking you so hard you have no doubt that I want you! *Only* you! You're mine! I'll never let you go!"

Then David hoisted him up to his feet and secured his bound wrists to a hook mounted on the wall in a recessed corner of the huge walk-in closet. Kane hung there, forced up onto his toes, a helpless, but willing sacrifice to his lover.

Long fingers brushed that yellow hair aside, baring the curve of his throat, allowing David to plant nipping kisses along the smoothly shaven skin. "Maybe this will teach you to talk to me before you dream up any half-assed schemes!"

Kane shivered at the hoarse tone. Before he could protest the injustice of that statement, David took his lips in a punishing kiss and he moaned helplessly, all thought fleeing his mind. Only Kane's ragged breathing broke the silence of the large closet, until the sound of David unzipping his trousers and freeing his rampant erection caused the younger man's heart rate to escalate and inarticulate sighs to pass from his lips.

Pressing his firm, young rump back against the cock that was rubbing teasingly along the crevice of his ass, Kane could feel the moisture leaking from it, causing it to glide over the sensitive skin just behind his balls. His lover's arousal began to press forward, seeking entrance into his body. "David!" he moaned softly.

It had been too long since David had buried himself in his lover's snug channel, and he found himself painfully hard and eager to dominate Kane. Lube warmed by the heat of his fingers eased the passage, preparing the way for a larger intruder.

Kane whimpered and struggled to turn his head. "Kiss me, David," he pleaded, and the older man took his lips even as his cock plunged into his lover. Kane moaned and thrust back onto the arousal that was measuring its length in him, only then feeling loved once more.

David gripped Kane's narrow hip with hard fingers and forced him to hold still for his plundering. He took the younger man's cock in his other hand and stroked and squeezed him, pleasuring him in ways they had both delighted in discovering.

Pulling him a step backward, David compelled Kane to angle his hips in a manner that had him shuddering at the sensations that rippled through him like a riptide and settled in his balls. He could feel them drawing up, tightening, preparatory to coming.

"David! David!" Kane sounded desperate.

The older man plunged against the spot that set him free. "Come for me, baby!" and Kane began to pour himself over his lover's hand.

The tension of those inner muscles milking his long-neglected cock triggered David's own climax, and with a stifled groan he too came, in long, shuddering spurts.

The pressure of David's weight along his back was straining the ligaments in Kane's shoulders, but he relished the discomfort, accepting it as a sign of his lover's deep emotional connection. He hummed with weary pleasure as the older man lightly stroked his nipples, prepared to stay as he was all night if need be.

"We've got guests!" David groaned as it suddenly dawned on him that the two of them had been incommunicado for much too long. Someone was bound to come looking for them.

And he had neglected to have a lock put on this particular door!

****

Three people stood before the walk-in closet. If one didn't know better, one could assume that they were guarding it.

And one would be correct: at least two of them were.

Mike strolled up to Benita and Guy, inhaling the last of the delicate puff pastries his old man had prepared for Kane and David's housewarming. When he learned that the house the young man and his lover had purchased was finally remodeled to their satisfaction, he had insisted on doing the catering.

Kane had been the deli man's friend for a long time, ever since Mike had moved into the neighborhood near an elementary school. He worked in the deli below the apartment he shared with his old man, learning the ropes so he could help out while his father recovered from a serious illness.

It was only supposed to be for a few months, but Mike found he had a talent for the business, and so he stayed. And met a young boy who one day wandered in when his father's housekeeper refused to make him lunch.

The kid had been punched and knocked down and his lunch money had been stolen. Mike had felt sorry for him and made him a bologna sandwich. He had no use for the children of the wealthy; too often they were parasites who only lived to cause trouble.

But Kane was different, and the former gang leader had taken a liking to the poor little rich boy who was so often alone, even when he was surrounded by a crowd of people. The kid needed a friend almost as badly as he needed to be one.

Carefully licking his fingers, he grinned at the pair sipping the expensive champagne his young friend had ordered weeks ago. Kane was so excited about finally moving into his own home. "Where's Butch? I haven't seen him all night."

Benita stifled a giggle and buried her face in the tweedy jacket the rich man wore. Guy gazed indulgently down at sable curls that covered her head. "He's with David."

Mike scowled. "Well, where are they? I have to start cleaning up after this lot, and I want to catch them before they decide to disappear somewhere together."

"Too late for that!" Benita sputtered, her eyes dancing with merriment, and she nodded toward the closet door. "They're in there!"

"Huh?" Mike leaned forward, but Guy stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"I think they need some... privacy right now!" He stared down his nose at the attractive brunette standing with them, and yet not with them. Her eyes tangled with his for a hostile beat before uncomfortably shifting away.

"What's going on?" Mike picked up on the young woman's tension, and his glance became decidedly interested.

"We'd better let Kane tell you the whole story! Unless, of course, Candy wants to regale us with her machinations?"

Shrugging and studying her wine as if it was the most fascinating thing in creation, Candy shook her head briefly. "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm sure!"

David chose that moment to open the door and step out of the closet. His hair was wildly disheveled and his clothing was in disarray. And he exuded an air of such satisfaction that even Mike, rabid epitome of het sex that he was, was intrigued.

The actor glowered at his former roommate. "Candy!"

"Um, David, everyone is going home, and I think it's about time for me to call it a night too. I had a marvelous time. Thank you so much for inviting me! Um, I'll be seeing you?"

Her sentence ended with a squeak, as David grabbed her wrist in a bruising hold and jerked her toward him. "Would you mind explaining yourself?"

"I didn't do anything!" she responded sullenly.

David huffed in impatience and Mike became even more interested. "What's going on David? And where's Kane? I need to know how much of this stuff he wants me to save. St. Anselm's is making up food baskets for the holidays and I can donate whatever the two of you don't need."

"Nice idea, Mike," David said softly. His eyes glowed with remembered passion. "But Kane's tied up right now." Benita and Guy exchanged startled glances and dissolved into muted laughter. The other man scowled at them, distracted. "Let me check out what we have left. And Candy!"

She had been easing her way toward the door and stopped short. "Yes, David?" she asked, innocently. He knew she was in this up to her penciled eyebrows, and he wasn't about to let her get away without an explanation.

"Don't. Leave. This. House!"

Unseen by the others, the closet door had opened quietly and the young man stepped out into the foyer. His jeans were zipped, but not buttoned, he was barefoot and shirtless, his hands cuffed in front of him.

"David!" he said plaintively, holding out his hands.

But it wasn't his bound state that drew everyone's attention. The bright lights of the hallway glinted off the yellow hair tangled around his face and curling past his shoulders.

Benita and Guy visibly flinched, and Mike's mouth dropped open in shock. Yellow was not Kane's best color.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Kane, what did you do to your hair?"

"That's what I want to know!" David looked clearly unhappy.

Kane looked clearly embarrassed.

And Candy looked clearly... guilty!

*****

Kane looked over his shoulder as best he could. David had taken the imported silk ties the younger man had given him as a token of his remorse, and tied his wrists and ankles to the posts of the double bed that had been their first purchase together.

Flat on his stomach, his arms secured above his head and his legs spread wide, Kane felt exposed and vulnerable, which was exactly how his lover wanted him to feel.

David snapped the velvet cat-o'-nine-tails he had bought the day after the debacle of Kane's yellow hair, and now he was following through on his threat to use it.

Tears streaked the young man's face and he sniffled inelegantly. "Please, David!"

"Please, what? What do you think you deserve for this idiotic stunt, little boy?"

Kane shuddered. Whenever David called him 'little boy' in that tone of voice, it meant he was seriously cross with him. The warm velvet of the cat whispered over the muscles of his back,
following the curve of his tailbone and teasing the crevice between his buttocks. The sensation of the thongs stroking his balls left him biting his lips to refrain from moaning.

The younger man attempted to wriggle away from the gentle touch of the napped material, but that caused his cock to rub against the cool satin of their sheets. His cock grew even harder, and he *knew* David would be displeased with him. He hadn't been given permission to come yet.

And then a pillow was shoved under his abdomen, raising his hips enough to make a handy target of his ass, and he no longer had anything to rub his cock against. A warm breath of air blew over
the engorged tip, and a drop of precome beaded there.

He moaned helplessly. Something warm and wet licked up his exposed flesh, from the sensitive skin just behind his balls to the puckered opening that afforded both him and his lover such pleasure.

"Do you like when I fuck you with my tongue, Kane?" David's voice was a hoarse whisper in his ear. A finger slick with lube pushed gently into him, and he tried to back onto it, to take more
inside him, but David just laughed softly. "This is a punishment, little boy! You can't think I'm going to let you enjoy this!"

"What...what are you going to do to me, David?"

"You know, your hair is so yellow, like a palomino pony! I think I'll make a pony boy out of you!"

"What...?"

David removed his finger and something cool and hard began to slide into the younger man. "Oh, that looks very nice, baby!" The older man fussed with its placement, drawing it out slightly,
then pushing it deeper into Kane.

Whatever David was pressing into him slid across the spot that left him whimpering and tugging uselessly at his bonds. Then Kane heard a soft snick. "What are you doing to me, David?"

"I'm going to untie you and let you see. Now hold very still."

Kane struggled to obey the orders, his inner muscles clenching around the ungiving intruder wedged deep inside him. "David...!"

Quickly, the older man released the silk ties and helped Kane to his feet. David pressed a button on their nightstand and a recessed panel swung out and opened to reveal a floor length mirror. He led Kane to it and turned him so he could view his backside.

David had inserted the cat-o'-nine tails into him! The long velvet strands were draped in an elegant fall, looking for all the world like a horse's tail. They spilled down around his thighs, tickling the soft skin behind his knees. Thin silver chains fastened with a tiny padlock kept the implement of punishment securely fastened in place. The little lock hung low, nestled in the curls at his groin. With each movement it brushed against the base of his cock, warming to the heat of his arousal.

Helplessly, he looked into his lover's dark eyes. "David!"

"Tell me what you need, baby."

Kane groaned and leaned into him, desperately seeking his lips. His tongue swept past David's teeth to fill his mouth, then swiftly pulled back, as if to tempt the older man to follow. A crooked grin kicked up the corner of David's mouth and he wound his fingers in that long...yellow...hair. Holding Kane's head still, David covered his lush lips with his own and began to feed off his sweetness.

Tremors racked the younger man's body, and he rubbed his weeping cock against David's conveniently placed thigh.

"Ride me, baby!" David whispered hoarsely, nipping his way down the curve of Kane's throat, pausing to lick at his Adam's apple before tipping his head back and settling on the pulse that was
beating so erratically under the hinge of his jaw.

Kane rocked against the coarse hairs of David's thigh, the tantalizing abrasion driving him closer and closer to climax.

"David! I need to feel you inside me, sliding in and out of me, fucking me!"

The little padlock fell open and gently David eased the butt of the cat-o'-nine tails out of his young lover. Kane's breath sobbed out at the loss of that fullness.

David turned him and pushed him gently toward the settee. Which had been their second purchase.

////

David had teased Kane that he wanted something of a comfortable height, so when he bent Kane over it to fuck him, he wouldn't strain anything important. The older man rather thought his lover
would get a ruler and measure the height they would need, and was disappointed when Kane just smiled absently at him and led him out the door.

They got to the furniture display room, and while David was conversing with a salesman, debating the merits of various pieces of furniture, Kane had gone from one sofa and couch and loveseat
to another, until he saw one he thought they might like.

"David!" he had called excitedly, "what do you think of this one?"

David had strolled over to admire the clean, contemporary lines of the couch. "It's very nice," he agreed. "Is this the one you want?"

"Well, I don't know. Do you think it's high enough?" And he turned and flopped over the back of the settee, leaving his ass at exactly the right level to be ravaged by his lover.

The salesman had turned beet red and David had dissolved into laughter.

And they had bought that particular piece of furniture.

////

Kane willingly bent over the back of the settee, spreading his legs wide in a silent invitation to be taken and thoroughly enjoyed.

With a single smooth thrust, David was buried deep in the younger man. He lay along Kane's back, his fingers busy with nipples that had proved to be surprisingly sensitive. And then he began to hum.

The sweet sound vibrated along Kane's spine and arrowed straight to his cock. He had never heard David use his voice other than for speaking, and the unexpected richness of the smooth tenor tones left him panting and frantic to come.

David straightened until he and his lover formed a right angle. The height of the settee was perfect for him, but Kane's toes were forced off the floor. He was balanced on the back of the
couch, David's cock in his ass, one hand on his hip to steady him, and the other wrapped around the younger man's erection.

"Do you like what I'm doing to you, Kane?"

"Yes!"

"And do you promise not to listen to any advice that Candy might want to give you, *ever again*?"

"Yesssss!"

"Do you think I should let you come now?"

"Oh, yesssssss!"

So David did.

***

In spite of his compact build and flamboyant good looks, Mike hadn’t scored in a long time. He had reached that stage in his life where he controlled his hormones, rather than the other way around.

And, quite frankly, he hadn’t met anyone he really wanted to fuck. Except, perhaps…. no. Kane was his good friend, and he wasn’t willing to jeopardize that friendship no matter what his libido might be thinking.

But David was one fine looking man!

Bemused by the fact that he was suddenly finding another man attractive, Mike barely noticed the petite brunette who was standing in the vicinity of Benita and her lover, Guy de Villiere.

Oh, she was pretty. Seriously pretty, her body toned and filling out that little red dress in all the right places. And when she walked, the fringe that decorated the hem and sleeve and neckline shimmied and trembled, enticing a man to slide his hands under it, to see if her skin was as soft as it looked.

He jerked himself out of his reverie. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, and he was sure she was the sort of girl who would settle for nothing less.

So he turned away from her, only sneaking occasional glances in her direction until a thoroughly sated David emerged from the walk-in closet, followed by a Kane who was clothed solely in unfastened jeans and a pair of handcuffs. And whose hair was a shocking shade of yellow!

It came out that David believed the brunette, his former roommate, was somehow behind the shocking change in his lover’s hair color.

Mike observed her closely then, observed her petulance and discontent and…unhappiness, and he wanted to ease her pain. Then he saw the way her eyes lingered on Kane’s lover, and he stiffened.

If Candy was bent on making trouble, then she was about to meet her worst nightmare, because Mike would let no one hurt his friend.

****

Sacks of groceries from an all-night supermarket filled Candy’s arms and she fumbled with the key to the apartment she had once shared with David McMillan.

Everyone was picking on her, and David didn’t love her anymore!

Kane had come to her for advice, and she had proffered it. He didn’t have to take it!

She wasn’t sorry she had persuaded Kane to color his hair, she assured herself.

She wasn’t!

But she could not get that last look David had pinned her with out of her mind. There wasn’t just anger there. There was rage. As if he would gladly find an excuse to circle her throat with his long fingers and just…squeeze!

She slammed the door shut so hard it bounced before swinging gently back in place, never noticing that the lock didn’t catch. The keys and her shoulder bag were allowed to fall heedlessly to the floor. The grocery bags were dropped onto the tiny table that served their…*her* needs. Frantic hands ripped at them and packages of chips, jars of marshmallow cream, bottles of soda cascaded to the floor.

Candy scooped up a package of Snoballs and tore it open with her teeth. She stuffed the coconut-covered white cake into her mouth, the creme filling smearing over her lips. The bottle of cherry pop she opened fizzed and spilled over and she gulped it mindlessly.

She took the second Snoball out and dipped it into the marshmallow cream, then twisted open a container of chocolate syrup, and covered the sickeningly sweet concoction with that.

The ringing of the telephone shattered the silence of the small apartment and jolted her to her senses, putting a halt to her feeding frenzy. Candy dropped into a straight-backed chair and buried her head in her arms. Ignoring the imperative demand of the phone, she began to cry.

****

Mike lost count of the number of times he let the phone ring while he waited for Candy to pick up. And he became concerned.

After all, there was a serial killer at large in the city.

And as much as he wanted to warm the seat of the little troublemaker’s panties for what she had done to his young friend, he didn’t want to see her seriously hurt.

Mike knew where she lived. Kane had walked him past the apartment house when he was in the beginning throes of his infatuation for the actor who shared it with her. Kane sneaked a peek at David’s personal file at the restaurant they both worked at to find his address, but had been too intimidated to pass it by unaccompanied.

So Mike had gone with him. He shrugged, that’s what friends were for. And now that information would stand him in good stead.

He slammed the receiver down.

"Hey, Butch…!" He turned to let his friend know he needed to leave but would return the next morning to supervise the clean up of the housewarming party.

Benita swallowed a smile. "You missed him, Mike. He and David have turned in for the night!"

Mike glanced first at his watch and then at the crowd that was still milling around the first floor of the remodeled house. He cocked an eyebrow at the petite psychic.

The man with Benita grinned unabashedly. "Ah, l’amour!" Guy murmured.

"He does have it bad!" Mike conceded. "Listen, I have to see about something that’s come up…"

The look in Benita’s eyes was knowing and he swore, having forgotten she was psychic. Her eyes became unfocused. "Go, Mike. Candy needs to have someone with her tonight. There’s danger…" She shook herself and forced a bright smile. "Go. Guy will give this lot his rich man in control of all he surveys look and they’ll be more than happy to go home!"

Mike expected the other man to take exception to her words, but Guy merely wrapped his arms around Benita’s tiny waist and pulled her back against him. Gently he rocked his hips forward, letting her feel his arousal, nestling it against the curve of her buttocks. His warm breath washed over her ear. She reveled in his closeness, knowing she would need it in the stressful times to come.

Mike felt an ache in his gut, and wished there was someone in his life who wanted to cuddle with him.

The door closed quietly behind the deli man and the roar of his motorcycle shattered the chill night air. Vintage World War I, he had rebuilt it from the wheels up. It was his pride and joy, and came complete with a sidecar. The only problem was the muffler. He was always meaning to replace the muffler, but somehow never got around to it.

****

It took him about ten minutes to make the trip from the part of town that housed Kane and David’s new residence to the neighborhood Candy lived in. It was still a nice area, but it teetered on the knife-edge of change, and the least breeze would send it toppling to the wrong side.

He parked in front of the apartment house and just sat there for a moment. Mike liked the feel of the antique cycle vibrating between his legs. He often wondered what it would be like to take a lover on that bike, to slide himself into the warm, moist depths of her body while the powerful machine idled. His eyes closed and he surreptitiously adjusted himself. It wouldn’t do to confront his friend’s bete noir with a raging hard on!

****

Eyes that were slightly mad watched from the shadows as Candy cradled her head on her arms, sniffling, but no longer weeping hopelessly. Now was as good a time as any…

A sharp rap on the door drew the attention of both occupants of the apartment.

"Candy? It’s Mike. Are you all right?"

Candy walked to the tiny foyer, taken aback to find the deli man hovering in the open doorway. "Mike!" Her lips were tight and her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You could have waited for me to let you in!"

"The door was unlocked!" he defended himself. "I just knocked and it swung open!"

"Yeah, well, what do you want?"

"Maybe to offer you a little comfort?"

Candy’s mouth dropped in stunned surprise. Mike was Kane’s friend. Why didn’t he want to make her pay for what she had done to the young man?

And then she thought that maybe he did, that maybe this was just a ploy to put her at her ease, and then take his revenge. She gathered a breath to tell him what she thought of him.

Mike watched in fascination, as her breasts seemed in danger of spilling out of the little dress she wore.

Neither heard the window in the other room quietly sliding shut.

*****

Kiss Me, Kane

Part17

Rehearsals had gone on way over the allotted time, the author of the play growing increasingly frustrated and frustrating. Finally he threw a major tantrum and stalked out of the theater.

"That’s it for tonight, people," the director gritted out. "Let’s take tomorrow off and see if the prima donna can learn to string together a coherent sentence. Unless you hear otherwise, be here bright and sharp in the A.M. on Friday."

There was tired grumbling from the cast as they stretched to get the kinks out of stiff backs. David scooped up his jacket and was on his way out the door.

"Hey, Davey!"

"Yeah, Sal?" David waited patiently until his friend could reach him. A onetime lover, Sal was still competitive enough to enjoy beating out the other man for the lead role in this production. David didn’t begrudge him his victory. There might not be too many more in Sal’s future. He had tested positive for HIV.

Sal slung his arm around David’s neck. "We’re going out for a few drinks to wind down. Join us!" He nuzzled the skin under David’s ear.

"C’mon, Sal, quit screwing around!" David slid out of the embrace uncomfortably.

Sal’s face seemed to fall apart. "You afraid you’ll catch it by being hugged by me?"

"Sal, you’re a pain in the ass, you know that? If I wasn’t afraid when I sucked you off, why would I be afraid when you touched me?"

"Then why won’t you come with us?" Deep in his heart, the blond hoped that if he could just get his former lover into the casual atmosphere of the clubs they used to frequent together, he might have another chance at loving him.

"It’s been a long day, Sal. And Kane’s waiting for me. I just want to go home and crash!"

Before Sal could protest, David ran a friendly hand over the short blond hair and turned to leave. Sal stood forlornly watching his back until the theater door swung shut, praying that the other man would look back at him just one more time.

But David’s mind was on his young lover, and he left without another thought to the other actor.

****

"Honey, I’m hooome!" David called as he closed the door to the house that was fast becoming the first real home he had ever known. It was late, but not so late that he wasn’t expecting his young lover to be waiting up for him.

He saw the blinking light on the answering machine and walked to the telephone. Hitting the message button, he took off his jacket and went to pour himself a drink as he listened to the messages.

"Hey, Butch, it’s me. I haven’t been able to find what you’re looking for yet. When I do I’ll let you know. Got a hot date with Candy tonight. Wish me luck. Later, kiddo!"

David scowled at the machine. He wasn’t too thrilled that Mike, the deli man, was so certain Kane would recognize his voice that he didn’t bother to announce his name. He muttered a couple of curses under his breath and pressed the button for the next message.

"Hi, baby, it’s me. Guy is taking me out to dinner tonight, so I won’t be able to do that reading for you. Call me and we’ll set up another time, okay? Bye, sweetie."

"Shit!" He had completely forgotten that he had asked Benita to read Kane for him again. And after all the arm-twisting he had done to get Kane to agree to it. The last time the psychic had read the younger man, David had gotten him high on heroin. Kane had revealed his love for David, his cock hard with the fantasies that had swirled through his drugged mind. David had refused Benita’s offer to leave them alone, and she had taken care of Kane’s hard on.

David shuddered as he recalled Kane’s reaction to the knowledge that the petite woman had jerked him off. He hated to think how close he had come to losing his lover before they had ever become intimate. Fortunately, Kane had a forgiving nature. He had taken the older man home and they had rocked each other’s world all night long.

He smiled, relishing that memory. It went completely over his head that Benita had not announced her name either.

There was one last message. "David, it’s Bernie. Where are you? I need to see you. It’s important. Call me."

David pressed the button to erase the messages, wondering idly how Bernie had gotten this number. He hadn’t seen his old friend since the late fall, when he had taken Kane dancing.

Benita was very uncomfortable around Bernie. She would have told him nothing.

As for Candy, she hated Bernie’s guts, and never lost an opportunity to tell David he was wasting his time on the misogynist.

But David was loyal to his friends. He might have made a piss poor lover at one point in his life, but he stood by his friends through thick and thin. He winced at the trite phrase, and raised his voice once more. "Kane? Are you up, baby?"

David suddenly realized how quiet the house was. And how dark. Only a small night-light burned in the kitchen, illuminating the area by the telephone.

Was Kane angry with him because he hadn’t called to let him know he’d be late? He couldn’t still believe David was seeing anyone else, could he?

Panicked by the thought that his young lover might indeed believe that and might have gone out looking for a little payback, David ran up the curving staircase to their bedroom, which occupied the entire second floor. If Kane wasn’t in their bed, he had no idea where to look for him.

It dawned on David that he really knew nothing about Kane’s friends, other than Mike. Kane could be anywhere in the city, with God alone knew who, and David would be unable to find him.

His mouth dry, David slapped the light switch, casting a restless gaze around the enormous room. His eyes swept past their bed, and then jerked back. He sagged with relief. Huddled in the middle of the bed, buried under a mound of blankets, was a decidedly forlorn shape.

Smiling softly, he braced a hand on the edge of the bed and rubbed the rump that was all he could identify. "Baby, I’m home. I’m sorry I forgot to call you, but Barton was making things difficult, as usual."

There was no response from the younger man, only long shudders that rippled through his frame.

"Baby, what’s wrong? Please. Talk to me."

Kane shivered so hard David was surprised he couldn’t hear his bones rattle. "Don’t be mad at me, David. Please?"

David had never heard that tone of voice from his lover, even at his most desolated. He tried to pull him free of the blankets, but Kane only burrowed deeper into them.

"Kane. I love you. Whatever it is, I’ll always love you. Tell me what’s wrong, and what I can do to make it right!"

"Nothing!" came the forlorn moan. "There’s nothing you can do to make this right! You’re going to hate me!"

"Baby, you’re scaring me, now!" David tried to joke, but his heart was making an attempt to climb out of his throat. What could have happened to the young man in his bed? Recalling the attack by the group of young street thugs weeks before, lurid pictures of Kane being raped flashed through his mind. "Have you seen a doctor?" he demanded, really scared now.

"Huh?"

"How badly are you hurt? Are you bleeding?" Frantic hands tore at the blankets, finally revealing his lover. Kane’s arms covered his head and he ducked it down, keeping his face averted.

Peeking under his arm, Kane was aghast at the fear he saw in the older man’s face. He threw himself into David’s arms, seeking to reassure him of his physical wellbeing. "I’m all right, honey man. I’m all right!"

Shudders now swept through David, and he ran his hands over Kane’s body, desperate to confirm those words. Abruptly, he recoiled.

"Oh. My. God. What did you do to your hair?" Everything fell into place. "*This* is what you didn’t want me to see?"

Shame-faced, Kane nodded.

The fear trapping David left with a whoosh of breath and he dropped down onto the bed, his legs nerveless from relief. Less angry than he otherwise might have been, he rubbed his chin over Kane’s startlingly hued hair. "Tell me what you did," he instructed mildly.

"I know you were pissed because I bleached it, so I decided to dye it back to my original color. Only the salesgirl told me I had to strip the yellow out first and she sold me something that was guaranteed to do that. Only it turned my hair green!" he ended with a wail.

"You know what you need, baby?"

Glumly, Kane nodded. "You’re going to spank me again, aren’t you?"

"Well, you deserve a spanking, little boy." Kane grew hard. "But this is my fault too. Apparently I haven’t been doing enough to convince you that I love you, and that you don’t have to change anything about your delectable self to keep that love. Just go on being you."

"David!" Kane held on tightly.

"And love me!"

*****

Kane lifted aside the heavy drapes that shielded the warmth of the home he and David were making together. Outside it was cold and blustery, a typical March day.

He looked at the curb-link platinum chains that nestled in his palms. A simple charm hung from each one. Together, the charms formed a perfect circle. Etched on the surface was the miz pah, an ancient shield against darkness.

The Lord watch between thee and me when we are parted one from the other.

Separated, the two halves looked as if they had been broken jaggedly in two.

Together, the charm formed a perfect circle.

****

David had not really been angry when he discovered that his young lover had wound up dying his hair green. But Kane had given him such a fright that he was determined to have him feel the weight of the pain that had torn through his heart.

"Get out of those clothes. Right now, little boy!"

Kane’s cock became so hard he whimpered. But he obeyed his lover and got to his feet, slowly peeling off the wrinkled jeans and shirt that he had worn to bed.

He stood before David, naked, tears streaking his cheeks.

"Don’t think that because I hate seeing you cry, I’ll let you get off easily. You’re going to be spanked so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week!"

"Yes, David," Kane said softly, peeking at his lover through his lush lashes, thrilling to the stern look he saw on David’s face.

"Turn around and climb on the bed. On your knees, and brace your arms." David began gathering his supplies while he waited for the younger man to obey him. "Now spread your legs. Wider!"

Kane jumped as a hard smack punished his right buttock. "Yes, David." He shuddered and felt a drop of precome bead on the tip of his cock. Involuntarily his hips jerked and he reached to take his shaft in his hand.

Another hard smack caught his left buttock. "I didn’t give you permission to touch yourself, did I, little boy?"

"*David*!"

There was rustling behind him and he dared to steal a glance, enthralled to see the older man naked, his arousal jutting proudly before him. Kane felt something relax inside. David might be angry, but he still loved him. Even if his hair was green.

"What is it, little boy? Tell me what you want me to do to you."

"Fuck me, David! Please!"

"I don’t think I’m going to do that. You’ve been very naughty, and you scared the shit out of me!"

Kane knew from the last that David had slipped out of character, and that he had been very frightened. Pain like white heat streaked across his ass, and he yelped. David was using the crop. Another blow fell on his upturned cheeks, and the heat became voluptuous.

After the fifth one, Kane lost count, wallowing in the warmth and the helplessness of his position. Tears were trickling down his cheeks, but the words flowing from his mouth did not indicate a cruel punishment.

"Harder, please, sir! David, crop me harder!" Kane’s ass was bright red, the skintight and hot to touch when the older man tossed the crop aside.

"Tell me what you want now, little boy!" But David was inserting a lubricated finger before Kane could answer him.

"Oh, yes! That’s what I want!" the younger man groaned.

Kane lowered his cheek to the sheet and raised his ass higher, trying to take the finger deeper into him. His lover withdrew it and he moaned a breathy protest. And then two fingers were sliding inside him, and a warm hand was stroking his weeping cock.

David pressed against the younger man’s prostate and Kane almost rose off the bed, whimpering at the delicious agony. This time when David removed his fingers, he replaced them with his condom-covered cock, forcing his way steadily into his lover’s needy passage.

When he was all the way in, the heat of Kane’s abused backside on David’s balls caused him to forget thoughts of further retribution. Instead of taking it slow and easy and tormenting the younger man by bringing him ever closer to climax, but never all the way there, David began pounding into him, his weight forcing the smaller man to hold still for the battering. David took his lovely cock in both hands and caressed him in time to his thrusts.

"*David*!" Kane was shuddering on the brink as his lover suckled the side of his throat, scraping his teeth across the sensitive spot. And then he was tumbling, falling, his climax so powerful he was insensate to everything but the man in him, on him, with him.

David stayed in Kane for as long as he could, but finally the trembling of the younger man’s thighs signaled his exhaustion. Gently, David eased out of Kane and discarded the used condom. Turning his lover onto his back, he licked the spatters of come that coated Kane’s chest.

He had come so hard that David found spatters on his chin as well. "I love you so much, baby! Don’t you ever forget that!"

Kane nuzzled against his lover, and smiled. "I’ll never love anyone like I love you, honey man," he said drowsily.

David sighed contentedly and drifted into sleep, his hand lightly petting the younger man’s ass.

****

The next day David took Kane to a highly recommended hair salon and the damage he had done to his hair was corrected. It had taken all morning. Kane had fidgeted in the chair, his butt still sore from the night before. Every time he squirmed and looked over at David, the older man would give him a smile that had him squirming even more.

But by mid afternoon, Kane’s hair was back to its normal lustrous brown, although the golden highlights would have to return on their own. Barely pausing to give his stylist a hefty tip, Kane grabbed David’s hand and dragged him home, where he had every intention of spending the rest of the day in bed.

Waiting on their doorstep was Bernie. Kane felt his insides clutch.

"Bern! What are you doing here?" David asked, clouting his old friend on the shoulder.

"You never returned my call, David. I need to talk to you. Who’s this?"

"Bernie, you know this is Kane."

"Oh, yeah, your busboy. Go ‘way, Kane. David and I need to talk."

"Bernie, Kane isn’t my busboy anymore. He’s my …" David paused as he seemed to consider all the things that Kane was to him. A tender smile lit his face as he took in the younger man’s appearance. "He’s my everything," he finished simply.

"David, he’s a fag!"

David stared open-mouthed at his friend. "Bernie, in case it hasn’t occurred to you, so am I!"

A dark flush crept up over Bernie’s cheeks and the look in his eyes turned ugly. "Don’t say that! You’re not! You’re not gay!"

"Bern…since junior high, buddy. You knew that!"

"No! Never! I couldn’t have loved you if you were queer!" Wheeling so sharply his overcoat flew open like a bird’s wings, Bernie rushed down the walk, going faster and faster until finally he was running.

"David, I’m afraid of him!" Kane whispered.

"No, baby, don’t be! He’s just…Bernie!" David shrugged helplessly. "But it might be a good idea if I urged him to seek professional help. The boy definitely looks like he’s unraveling!"

"David, this isn’t funny!"

"Do you see me laughing, baby? Bernie is one of my oldest friends, and I can’t do anything to help him!"

Kane slid his arms around his lover and held on. David dropped a kiss into his coconut-scented hair and urged him into the house.

"Hey, baby, I never gave you your housewarming gift, did I?"

"David, this house belongs to both of us! Having you here with me is the only gift I want!"

"Well, I’ve got something for you. Don’t tell me you don’t want it, you’ll break my heart!"

"And you know I’d never do that! All right, if that’s how you want to be, gimmee, gimmee!"

"Oh, baby, I do love you!" David opened the front door, then leaned down and scooped Kane up into his arms, carrying him across the threshold. He took his lips in a passionate kiss, and let him slide to his feet, making sure every inch of Kane’s body came in contact with every inch of his own.

Kane wound his arms around David’s neck and rested against his lover. David took the younger man’s left arm and brought it down. Between his fingers, the older man held a tiger’s eye sapphire in a scrolled setting. Kane’s eyes grew huge as David slid the ring onto his finger and kissed it into place.

"It’s official now, baby. We’re engaged!"

"David, you don’t have to... I don’t need a…"

"Yes, I do and yes, you do! I love you baby and I want everyone to know it!"

****

Kane smiled as he recalled how they spent the rest of the afternoon. And then Mike had called, to tell him he had found exactly what Kane had asked him to keep an eye out for.

Looking down at the larger chain that he would place around David’s neck, Kane felt, now more than ever, that his lover needed something to keep safe.

Kane just hoped that his love would prove to be that talisman.

*****

It was the weekend, and as usual, Salante’s was mobbed with the after hours crowd. Kane whisked from one table to another, snapping his fingers to make sure his busboy refilled water goblets, replaced fallen silverware, and removed used plates.

David would be working late at the theater again. He had auditioned for, and been accepted into a very exclusive, very avant-garde repertory company that did daring, fringe playwrights.

And to pay the bills, they performed Shakespeare on the weekends. To pander to the snobist elite, it had been announced that the plays would be authentic, done as in Old Will’s time, with men portraying every character, even the female ones.

Kane was a little uneasy with that notion. This week Twelfth Night was scheduled. He had been to some of the rehearsals, and the actor who played Viola, the twin who survived a shipwreck and was forced to dress as a man to earn her way, made a very pretty woman.

He was an even prettier man.

Kane did not like that fact. He did not like David holding that…actor’s chin between his fingers and almost kissing that pouting mouth.

The paying customers adored it. They never knew from one show to another whether this would be the one where they would see a man kiss another man. And so they flocked to the theater.

David loved the hoopla. He loved the notices he was starting to get in the local papers. And he loved the fact that after he came home from those performances, Kane would crowd him toward their bed, stripping the clothes off both of them, and make passionate love to him.

Oddly enough, the actor who was turning Kane as green as his hair had recently been, was straight. He was dating the make-up woman, who was a few years older than he. David found the whole thing as amusing as Shakespeare’s more clever comedies.

Denis, who was known for chasing and bedding anything with boobs, had been thrown for a loop when he met Josephine. He went after her, but she merely smiled indulgently at the younger man and refused to take him seriously. And so his pursuit became more and more earnest. Until he found himself well and truly caught.

They were into the last few scenes of the play. "Come, boy, with me; my thoughts are ripe in mischief: I’ll…" David snarled in character, to find that Denis was nowhere in sight. "I said, Come, boy…!"

And then the young actor stumbled to his mark, his cap askew, the greasepaint on his mouth smeared. His eyes were crossed and he peered myopically in the general direction of David’s voice. "And I, most jocund, apt, and willingly, to do you rest a thousand deaths would die."

David couldn’t help himself: he lost his focus and broke up. This was the night the audience got what they were salivating for. David grabbed the young actor and kissed him, to cover up his laughter.

Fortunately, this was the night when Kane was not there.

Unfortunately, someone else was.

****

What was David thinking of, kissing that slut in front of the whole audience? The lurker in the shadows of the mezzanine clenched his fists impotently. He turned abruptly and stalked past others who could only find admission in the SRO section.

Toes were trod upon and shoulders were brushed rudely past. More than one injured party opened their mouth to protest, then thought better of it when they looked into his eyes. Pausing in the lobby, he glanced around, then made his way out of the theater and down the alley that led to the stage entrance.

The old man whose job it was to keep unauthorized personnel out, was in the john, and the watcher was able to slip into the dressing room unseen. Thunderous applause filtered down to where he waited, and then excited laughter as the actors hurried backstage to meet with the wealthy ‘angels’ who sponsored this company and with the press who came for the free food and drinks.

Denis was even more euphoric than the others. Josephine had kissed him deeply, endeavoring to count each of the caps his dentist had been at such pains to implant in his mouth. And she had whispered her agreement to finally meet him after the show.

He threw open the door of the dressing room he shared with David and bounced in. "Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize someone was already in here. Are you waiting for McMillan? He should be right…Hey! Owww!"

To Denis’ shocked amazement, the stranger had struck out at him. He recoiled and stared stupidly at the thin line of red that appeared across his middle. His fingers reached toward it, and came away stained with blood. Staggering backward, he managed to get himself into the corridor before he collapsed against David.

David went to the floor with him, cushioning the limp weight. "Denis, what…?" He looked into the dressing room. "Bern, what are you doing here?" And then he saw the knife, and the blood beading its edge. "Oh, God, Bern! What have you done?"

Bernie’s eyes no longer held even a hint of sanity. "You’re mine, David! You’ve always been mine!" He stepped toward his friend and the actor flinched and tightened his hold on the unconscious man. Bernie touched him fastidiously with his toe. "He’s trash, David. You should have been kissing me! I’m much better for you! Why can’t you see that?"

"Get out of here, Bern! Just go!" David whispered harshly. He raised his voice. "Someone call 9-1-1! There’s been an accident!"

Bernie leaned down and took the earring the younger actor wore as part of his costume. With an abrupt yank, he tore it from his earlobe, and more blood was added to the streaks on his tunic. And then he was gone, and David was struggling to keep from vomiting.

The cast and crew gathered around, stunned by the violence that had been committed in their theater.

They backed away as Josephine came running. "Oh, mon Dieu! Denis!" She sank to her knees and cradled his head to her lush bosom.

David had carefully opened the tunic, and breathed a sigh of relief. "It’s not deep, just through the upper layers of his skin."

"Why then has he fainted?" the make-up woman demanded.

David shrugged. If someone had pulled a knife on him, he was pretty sure he would have passed out too.

By this time the ambulance had arrived and the EMS techs took over. They appeared to agree with his assessment. They wiped off the blood and applied a pressure bandage, and prepared to transport him to the nearest hospital.

David staggered to his feet, his hands shaking. Who did he think he was, Cleopatra, queen of denial? Candy had warned him more than once that Bernie was not too tightly wrapped. And Kane had begged him to be careful…

He bolted for the pay phone and cursed his costume for being without pockets. "Whose got a coin? I need to make a phone call!"

One of the crew tossed him a quarter and he fed the phone and punched in the numbers to the home he and Kane now shared. It rang, and rang.

There was no answer. Not even the machine picked up. David felt his heart give a lurch.

"Shit!" He slammed down the receiver and retrieved the coin, then dropped it in the slot again and dialed another number.

"Candy, it’s David. Is Mike there? Please, I need to talk to him right now!" He chewed on his lip and would have paced if the phone cord had been long enough. "Mike!" He gave a sigh of relief.

"What’s up, David? You’re putting a damper on a hot date, you know!"

"I need you to go pick up Kane. He’s working at Salante’s."

"David…" Mike wasn’t able to continue.

"Please be careful! Bernie sliced someone here at the theater, and I’m afraid he might go after Kane now."

"I’m on my way, David. Try not to worry."

"Mike, keep him with you, please. And have him call me here as soon as you have him."

Feeling a little more at ease, David hung up the phone and waited.

He had been involved with a few cop shows, enough to know the drill. A knife wound would be reported to the police, and Denis would be questioned. They’d probably want to question him as well, since he had seen who had done it.

David lit a cigarette, although he had promised his young lover that he would quit, and began puffing. He really needed a drink too. He glanced at the wall clock and started pacing.

****

Kane looked up from where he was splitting the tips with his busboy. "Mike! What are you doing here? We’re closed, but I can get you a bite, if you don’t mind something cold."

Mike’s face was pale, and the lines around his mouth stood out in bas-relief. "You’re coming with me, kiddo." He noticed the young man’s hand go to the chain he wore around his throat.

"David?"

Mike shook his head. "He’s fine. You know he worries when you stay out late."

Kane’s lips tightened into a determined line. "What’s wrong, Mike? The last time David wanted me watched was when my father…" He choked. After all this time, he still had trouble accepting the lengths his father had been willing to go to get him.

"It’s Bernie. Apparently he cut someone at the theater. Not David! Calm down! David is afraid for you. You’re not going to make me get ugly in order to get you to cooperate, are you, Butch?"

Kane shook his head and pushed the tips to where his busboy sat watching the unfolding drama with interest. "Take this. Go home!"

"David wants you to call him at the theater, Butch."

"Okay, yes. I’ll…" Kane made the call and waited impatiently until someone finally answered. "I need to speak with David McMillan. This is Kane." He listened in silence. "What do you mean, he’s not there. Where the fuck is he? All right, all right, I’m sorry."

"Maybe he went home, Kane," Mike said quietly, rubbing his young friend’s shoulders. Kane nodded his head jerkily and dialed again. His breathing was audible.

"There’s no answer. I want to go home, Mike."

"Let’s go back to Candy’s place. It’ll be safer, and you can try calling him again from there."

"I want to go home, Mike." Kane’s mouth took on a mulish look.

"Kiddo…"

Kane shook his head. "Please, Mike!"

His friend sighed and nodded. He needed to get Kane someplace safe as soon as possible.

His motorcycle roared through the night. He could feel the tremors coursing through the young man’s body. And every now and then he could make out the words that spilled from his mouth. "Don’t let him be hurt. Please God. Don’t let him be hurt."

*****

The man in the somewhat worn business suit slowed his pace. He was in a part of town that was familiar to him, but he had no recollection of how he had gotten there.

The clubs had closed down for the night, and the area was fairly deserted. A couple of junkies, hoping to cop one last score, a few hookers looking to make enough to pay the rent.

And him. His brow furrowed in confusion, he considered taking one of the hustlers back to his place, but he never shit where he slept. And besides, he didn’t need to pay for it: he could get it for free any time he wanted it.

It was just that lately…he wanted something different. He wanted David.

Bernie had waited years for him, accepting the meaningless one night stands, the impersonal sex that his friend substituted for love.

When David had gone east to the big city to try his luck in the theater there, Bernie was caught short. He hadn’t had time to make his move. That was when he started looking for something to take his mind off his friend. He had found it in those faceless, nameless nonentities, secretaries, hairstylists, students.

But then David returned, and Bernie was sure that it was going to be his turn. He was the one David loved, that he had always loved.

Only David didn’t seem to realize this.

Now the actor was involved with someone else. Bernie clenched his hand in his pocket and winced and swore. He’s forgotten about the knife he’d slipped in there. Pulling his hand free, he eyed the blood welling from the cut across his palm in disgust. This was something else he could blame on that tramp his friend, his…friend was living with.

Bernie knew how to get there. He had been there before, had even stayed overnight one time after he had disposed of that inconvenient bitch who had fought back and left him bloodied. David had believed him when he said it was the result of a brawl in a sports bar.

Sweet David. He was such a sexy piece of meat. But so stupid! Bernie had told him that night that when he was away he had missed him, but David acted as if that was only his due and had gone to bed.

Bernie was going to love getting into his cock into David’s ass after all this time. He’d show his friend what it was like with a real man. He’d fuck him so long and so hard David would never be able to get him out of his mind again!

He looked around and got himself oriented. Then he began walking in the direction that would take him to his friend.

****

Candy was in a petulant mood. What was it about her that caused the men in her life to drop her? For another man?

Mike, the man she was dating had split as if his tail was on fire. And what a nice tail it was, too, she mused.

That call from David, who had been her lover for about two seconds a few years ago, had sent him rushing out to find Kane.

David loved Kane. Mike was inordinately fond of the young man. So what was it about him, that drew both the men she was interested in?

She had worn that sexy little red dress in the hopes of luring Mike into doing more than making out on the stained futon. The last time she had put it on had been for Robert, the bartender who couldn’t decide if he was married or not. His lovemaking had left a good deal to be desired.

She sighed, recalling how, when he asked her if she had come and she replied it was fine, Robert had accepted her lukewarm enthusiasm. And she had let him fuck her without a condom, too. How stupid could one woman be, that she’d risk her life because she wanted to be loved?

So Candy had turned to Geri. She thought the schoolteacher might be able to give her what she sought, but something was missing there too.

She guessed she wasn’t cut out to be a lesbian. For her, being eaten by a woman wasn’t half as satisfying as being fucked by a man.

She had finally given up looking for that one person in the world who would have complimented her, who would have made her feel whole. That was when she found Mike, at David and Kane’s housewarming.

Their relationship actually started when Mike realized that she was behind Kane’s shocking change of hair color. He had come to her apartment, and somehow or other she found herself over his knee. His broad, calloused hand had edged under the hem of the casual romper she wore, palming her buttocks. And then a blunt finger had stroked the crotch of her silk panties, causing them to dampen.

The shock of his hand spanking her was so sudden that she struck out with her legs in protest. He wound his leg around hers, controlling her movements. Mortified by being treated like a child, startled by feelings that were in no way childlike, she swore at him, every foul phrase she could remember David using, but Mike ignored her cries. He just continued to paddle her lush tush while he stroked her moist folds.

And then, unexpectedly, she came. And it had been the best climax she had ever had.

That had been weeks ago, and Mike still hadn’t made love to her, but Candy was getting more determined to have his cock inside her. She had been positive that tonight was the night, and then had come that goddamned phone call!

She stalked around the darkened room, kicking her toe against whatever got in her way. She was deep in a fantasy of Mike, naked, his cock rising proudly, and she swallowing it, when a soft purring brought her back to reality.

Lying on the radiator was the cat that David always fed, but claimed not to. Candy had never permitted him to bring it into their apartment.

****

"Hey, McMillan! Phone for you!"

David glanced over his shoulder. He had about worn a path in the carpeting that covered the corridor that led to the dressing rooms. He pinched out the end of his cigarette and took the receiver. "McMillan."

"David, it’s Candy!" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"What’s up, C? I can’t stay on the line long, I’m expecting a call from Kane."

"David, I think someone is here in the apartment with me!" The fear came across clearly.

"Have you called the police?" David demanded.

"I want Mike." Her tone was forlorn. "Oh, God, David, I’m so scared! That damned cat you were always feeding is sitting on the radiator right under the window. The window is open!"

It was too late in the year, too cold for Candy to have left that window open. David felt frigid fingers squeeze at his gut. "Candy, call the police!"

She wasn’t listening to him. "I tried calling your place, but the phone just rang. David, what should I do?"

"Fuck calling the police! Get out of there now Candy! Do you hear me?"

"Yes. All right. I’m on my way out. Oh!" Her voice became shrill. "What do you…*Bernie*? What are you…" and then the phone went dead.

David didn’t waste any time. "Someone, call the cops and get them to my old place!" He dropped the receiver and ran out of the theater.

Why was there never a cab around when you needed one?

He started running.

*****

Bernie had the little red dress that Candy wore down off her shoulders, trapping her arms and leaving her breasts exposed. He crouched over her as she lay writhing beneath him, helpless on the floor.

His knife glinted in the stray light that filtered in through the open window.

Candy’s flesh was pebbled with goose bumps from the chill air that was permeating the room. Her nipples were painfully tight, and stood upright, calling unwanted attention to themselves.

Bernie scraped the edge of the wicked blade up the curve of her breast and let it rest just beside a nipple. "Do you know how sharp this blade is?" he asked idly. "With just the least little pressure I could…"

He let the thought sink into Candy’s mind and smiled in satisfaction as he saw her imagination run wild. Her eyes widened in horror and her breath caught in her throat.

"No!" she could barely whisper. "Oh, please, no!" She hated the pleading tone in her voice.

Bernie grinned and eased back, his hands going to the hem of her flirty skirt. He frowned when he realized that he couldn’t raise it with her lying there like that. He lifted himself off her legs to slide further back.

"He wants to taste you, you know." He leaned forward and started licking and biting a path up from her thigh. "Hot. Wet. Red!"

Candy screamed shrilly and bucked under his weight. Somehow she managed to get her legs free of him and caught him under the chin with her knee. Bernie reared back with a howl of rage and pain and Candy was able to roll away from him.

Before the unhinged man could seize her again, the apartment door burst open.

Bernie stared at the man that he wanted, had wanted for what seemed like a lifetime. //Look at me!// his mind wailed. //*Love* me!// But all he saw in those dark eyes was horror and sadness. With a cry of despair, he dropped the knife and fled the apartment.

David ran to Candy, who was sobbing helplessly, a hand over her mouth to hold back the hysteria that was threatening to overwhelm her. He stroked her hair gently back from her eyes as she burrowed into his arms. "Candy, I have to go after him!"

She nodded and rubbed her cheek against his sleeve. "Stop him, David!" She swallowed another sob. "I’ll be okay. But, please, be careful!"

David went out into the hall and listened carefully. He could hear the pounding of footsteps on the stairs leading up and he turned and began to follow after them.

****

Candy listened to the silence of the room as she dragged herself over to the phone. She dialed David’s home number and this time someone picked up.

"David?" Kane’s voice was pathetically anxious.

"Kane, it’s Candy. You’d better get over here right away. Is Mike with you? Can I speak with him?"

"Yes. Wait a minute."

There was a pause as Kane handed the phone to his friend. "Baby, what’s wrong?"

She burst into tears. "Mike, Bernie was here. I …"

"Are you all right?" His panic soothed hers.

She nodded, although he couldn’t see her action, and tugged her dress up over her breasts. "Please, Mike. I need you."

"I’ll be there as fast as I can!"

****

The entire ride to Candy’s apartment Mike cursed the fact that Kane’s Porsche was in the shop. The way his friend drove, they would have made the trip in record time.

He had tried to convince Kane that it wouldn’t be a good idea to go with him, but one look at the younger man’s white, constricted face, and he had given up on that. Mike climbed on his bike and Kane mounted behind him, holding on for dear life.

****

The door that opened onto the roof was just banging back against the wall. David went through it and up the short flight of metal steps that ended on the flat expanse of rooftop.

Bernie stood by the edge of the building, gazing down onto the street below. He was lost in memories of all the times he and David had shared a bottle of vodka if they had money, or a beer if they were skint. They would smoke a cigarette and read the newspaper on this roof. David had been so shocked when he realized Bernie was spitting over the side. "They never know where it comes from," he had told the actor.

David approached the other man cautiously. "Bern, come on, get away from the edge."

"Give me one good reason why, man."

"You’re my friend, Bernie."

"So’s that cunt, Candy. Not good enough, David. Not nearly good enough. You’ve got too many fucking friends."

"What do you want from me, Bern?" David was close enough to his friend to touch his sleeve. He remembered when he had asked that same question of his young lover. //I just want to be your friend,// Kane had answered hesitantly, knowing that the next few minutes would change his life forever.

//I don’t need another friend!// David had spat.

//What do you need?//

//I need a lover!// David had been aghast at the words that had come unbidden from his mouth, and would have left, only Kane had opened his heart to him and taken him in.

Bernie spun around so quickly that David was unable to control his flinch, and the other man’s face hardened. "I want you, David."

Now his breath fanned David’s mouth and he leaned forward to press their mouths together. The actor’s lips were a tight line. Bernie licked at the seam delicately. "Open to me, David," he whispered.

David jerked his head back and turned his face aside. "I can’t, Bern."

Bernie’s eyes reflected the madness within. "It’s Candy, isn’t it?"

"Bernie, I’m gay."

"Then why not me, David?" He seized David’s mouth, biting at it brutally.

David stood unmoving, letting his old friend assalt his mouth. Bernie’s fingers wound in his hair and yanked it back so hard that tears formed in the other man’s eyes. "You’ll love me, David, or I’ll kill you like the others!"

"I’m sorry, Bern, I can’t. I love someone else!"

"It’s that kid, isn’t it? The one you were with at the arcade that time I bought some coke! Your busboy!"

David refused to discuss the younger man with his friend. "Why, Bern? Why’d you do it?"

The deep-throated roar of a motorcycle shredded the stillness of the night.

Bernie released his friend and shrugged. "Secretaries, hairdressers, cashiers. They weren’t important. They weren’t…you." He walked back to the low wall that edged the building.

"Bernie, let me get you help." The wail of the police sirens tore down the street.

"I need help? I need help?" He laughed bitterly, and a single tear curved down his cheek and clung to the corner of his mouth. He stepped up onto the wall.

David leaped forward and grabbed for Bernie. Their fingertips touched. For a single moment, Bernie’s eyes were sane. His smile was sweet, and he was the friend of David’s younger days. "I love you, David."

Flinging his arms wide, as if to embrace the night, Bernie let his weight tip him backward and he went over the edge of the building.

David stood frozen, hunched against the sound of his friend landing on the roof of the police cruiser below. Vaguely he heard footsteps ringing on the metal steps, but he was too shocked by the events that had just taken place to connect that with the sudden appearance of Kane at his side.

The younger man’s arms went around his lover. He eased David down as his legs gave way under him and he collapsed onto the roof, curling in on himself. Desolate, racking sobs shattered him.

Kane stroked his hair and murmured softly in his ear, pressing warm, gentle kisses over his lover’s face. He pulled David deeper into his embrace and rocked him, as a trail of silver tears streaked his own cheeks.

His hand gripped the charm that hung from his lover’s neck.

*****

All through the misery of that night, David had clung to Kane, waking from nightmares in which his lover had been the one Bernie had at the mercy of his knife. Unable to reveal the horror of those dreams to the younger man, David had swallowed his terror, turned Kane onto his stomach, and slid his length into the snug passage that beckoned him home.

Afterwards, David had fallen asleep still buried in his lover, and Kane remained motionless, reluctant to lose the warmth of the older man within him and around him. But eventually David’s cock slid out of him, and Kane lost his battle to stay awake.

And then the nightmares returned and the scenario was replayed. David’s fingers were gentle but implacable as he stroked the crevice between Kane’s buttocks and pressed his cock past the tight ring of muscle. Roused from a sound sleep, the younger man sighed in drowsy pleasure and spread his legs wider, content to let David thrust into him, savoring the glide and the burn of his lovemaking.

David had groaned and stiffened as he poured himself into his lover. His weight bore Kane down to the sheets and he murmured a protest at landing in the wet spot. Warm lips caressed the side of Kane’s throat, and then David’s breathing evened out to the deep, steady rhythms of slumber.

The next time the nightmares attacked, David was too exhausted to fight his way out of sleep. He tossed and moaned, finally crying out, "Kane! The knife!"

The younger man jerked up, his heart thudding in panic. David thrashed around, fighting the pillows, tangling the sheets. "Bernie, no! Please! Don’t hurt Kane!"

"It’s all right, honey man. I’m okay. Bernie didn’t get me." Kane’s soft murmurs reached his lover’s unconscious and loosed the hold of the nightmares.

Easing himself out of bed, Kane took a moment to clean the residue of the night’s passion from his body, then got a fresh washcloth and dampened it. He returned to the large bed the two men shared and knelt next to his distraught lover. Running the cool cloth over David’s flushed face, Kane wiped away the tears and the sweat of the frightening dreams.

David opened his eyes, remembrance fading to nothingness. "Kane. What is it, baby?"

"You had a bad dream, David. That’s all. I’m here. I’ve got you. I won’t let you go."

David sighed and settled deeper into his lover’s embrace. And this time, Kane kept the nightmares at bay.

****

Kane had held David, and comforted him, and cradled him in his arms through the dark hours of the night. The older man had roused once more; this time to the feel of his lover’s riotous curls feathering his skin as Kane licked a path across his abdomen to his half-hard cock.

Which did not remain half-hard for long.

The younger man had shown a remarkable talent for cock sucking, and he never hesitated in swallowing. David couldn’t remember ever being loved so unselfishly. The flutter of Kane’s tongue over the slit at the tip of David’s cock, the pressure of his teeth along its length, just short of painful, had the older man shuddering on the verge of orgasm.

Kane had squeezed the base of David’s erection and the need to come abated for a while longer.

But it couldn’t be halted, and eventually his thrusts became more and more erratic as he fucked Kane’s willing mouth. And then he drove himself deep into Kane’s throat and

erupted in a volcano of completion.

With a groan of satisfaction, he had slumped bonelessly onto the mattress and slept.

The sun was climbing high in the morning sky when David finally awoke, alone in their bed. The younger man was nowhere to be found in their bedroom, which comprised the entire second floor, but the alluring aroma of dark brewed coffee was wafting up from the kitchen below.

David slipped on what Kane loved to describe as his dressing gown, but which was in reality just a toweling robe. The hem reached to mid thigh, and Kane’s eyes always sparkled with interest whenever he could convince his lover to wear it.

Rubbing his hair absently, the actor made his way down the curving staircase to the first floor, grumbling at the chill of the bare parquet floors. He followed his nose to the breakfast nook, which faced the rear of the house.

A steaming mug of hazelnut coffee sat, abandoned, on the round table that had pride of place at the center of the nook. David picked it up and sipped, unerringly finding the spot that Kane’s lips had touched.

Standing before the windows, he contemplated the large, grassy lawn that spread from the house to the wooded area that edged the perimeter of their property. It was yellowed from the cold of winter, but he knew that come the spring it would become a sea of green.

A sudden vision of Kane, naked on that grass, with him comfortably between his thighs, made David’s sated cock twitch with interest.

A subdued splash caught his attention and he turned his head. Through the floor to ceiling glass walls that separated this portion of the house from the pool area, David saw his lover leisurely stroking across the length of the Olympic-sized pool.

When he reached the shallow end, Kane jack-knifed around and swam back the way he had come. He hoisted himself onto the deck, and as the water sheeted off his compact frame, it became apparent that he was swimming au naturel.

The way David loved best. He smiled to himself and refilling the mug, he walked through the short passage that led to the lower sundeck that bordered the inner half of the pool.

"Morning, baby."

Kane’s eyes were tired, but they lit up when he realized his lover had joined him. "David!" He flowed into his arms and pulled his head down for a leisurely kiss. "Mmmm, you taste of coffee."

He took the mug from the older man. David watched avidly as Kane’s adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow.

"I love you so much, baby."

"What’s that in aid of?" Kane regarded him cautiously.

The corner of David’s mouth curved up and he retrieved the mug. "Can’t I tell you that I love you?"

"Well, yes. And I know that you do. You just don’t tell me very often."

"My mistake, baby. I’ll have to remedy that. I love you today." He kissed his lover’s lush mouth. "Tomorrow." His lips traversed Kane’s cheek to his jaw. "Always." His teeth latched onto the lobe that bore the silver earring that matched his own and bit down gently. "Will you do something for me, baby?"

"Anything, David! I’ll even marry you if you want me to! Oh, no, wait a minute!" Kane licked David’s throat. "I already promised to do that!" He dissolved into relieved laughter.

David smiled into Kane’s chocolate brown eyes. "Yes, you did, and I’m holding you to that."

Kane snuggled deeper into his arms. "I wish you were just a poor, struggling actor, David."

"Good God, Kane! Why?" David was distracted from what he had been originally going to say

"I’d give anything to keep you."

David stared at his young lover. "Let me get this straight. You want me to be poor, so you can be my sugar daddy?"

"Yeah. That would be so hot."

"Excuse me?"

"Sure!" Kane began to wax enthusiastic. "I’d take you to fancy restaurants, and show you off. I’d take you to those really snooty men’s furnishings shops and buy you all these expensive threads, and make sure all the salesmen knew you were mine!"

"Kane, you’re depraved!"

"But you love me anyway!"

‘Well, didn’t I just say so?" David began crowding Kane back toward a chaise longue, intending to ravish his body.

And the doorbell chose that moment to ring.

"Damn!’

"Well, hell!" Kane groused. David snatched a final kiss before the younger man scooped up his own robe and slipped into it.

"Are we presentable? Nothing’s showing that shouldn’t be, is it?"

Kane glanced down before he could prevent himself, and blushed. "I’ll get the door." He hurried to the front of the house.

"Kane!"

The younger man stopped short, stunned at the fear in that one word.

David tried to smile, but it was a travesty of his usual insouciant grin. "Make sure you check the peephole first."

Kane paled and nodded jerkily. But David was right behind him as he crossed the short vestibule that led to their front door. Hefted casually in his right hand, was the carafe of coffee, the best he could do for a weapon on the spur of the moment. He’d have to go out and buy a baseball bat. He’d be damned before he resorted to a gun!

It would be a long time before he would get over the nightmares that saw Kane substituted for Candy, and no white knight handy to rescue him.

Benita was waiting impatiently to be let in. She hugged Kane, and then David, eyeing the carafe. "Fresh coffee? Wonderful, I need it after the morning I’ve had!"

Kane did a double take when he saw the jug. David shrugged and gave a weak smile, then led the way back to the kitchen. He took down a mug for his friend and sat with her in the nook while Kane set about making some breakfast.

"Aren’t you going to ask how David is doing?" Kane asked as he broke eggs into a bowl and began whisking them.

"No, I can see his aura, and he’s going to be fine. I do have a question to ask, though." Benita smiled into her coffee and watched the two men she was so fond of.

"But you’re psychic, Nita. You’re supposed to know the answer to all the questions," David teased.

"Oh, I do. Sometimes," she said, reminding him that while she had seen danger around him, she hadn’t been able to pinpoint the target. "I was just wondering if Kane does."

"If I know what?" Kane asked absently as he slid the French toast onto plates. He drizzled them with maple syrup and then sprinkled confectioner’s sugar over them. With a flourish, he set the plates before his friend and his lover. Then he took the pitcher of warmed syrup and the butter dish and placed them on the table between them. "Let’s eat. I’m starved."

They all took a bite. Kane’s cooking was surprisingly delicious. He took another sip from the mug he and David were sharing and realized that Benita had never answered his question. "What am I supposed to know?"

Benita paused with the fork halfway to her mouth. Her lips curled in a wicked smile.

"When you’re going to marry David."

*****

David took Kane’s hand and rubbed his thumb over the tiger’s eye ring that the younger man was never without.

"So, baby. When are you going to make an honest man of me?"

Kane’s eyes softened and he leaned toward his lover, taking his lips in a kiss that tasted of want and need and love. And maple syrup.

Benita cleared her throat and hid her smile behind the rim of her coffee mug. "I really wish you guys would pick a date. Maybe that would get Guy off my back."

"What?" David’s brows drew together in an impressive frown. As an actor, he knew how to do disapproval really well. "What’s the rich man been doing to you?"

"Back off, David," the psychic bristled. "*I’m* the only one who calls him that!"

Her friend’s mouth tightened as he struggled to prevent a grin. Well, well. It seemed things were progressing between the dominatrix and her one-time client.

"Okay, sorry. What’s de Villiere been doing to get your panties in a twist?"

She scowled at him, but she was too concerned with the sudden turn of events with her own lover to maintain her snit. "He wants me to meet his family."

"Well, it’s about time. You’ve been seeing him how long now?"

"You know very well how long it’s been, David McMillan! You paired with Kane around the same time!"

"So I did." David smiled as he felt his young lover’s bare toes stroke up his calf under the table.

"I don’t see what the problem is, Benita," Kane remarked, his foot comfortably in David’s lap. Absently he began rubbing his heel against the flesh that was hardening beneath it.

She looked exasperated. "Kane, I’m a…"

"Yes? You’re a…what? You’re a caring, loving woman. And Guy knows that."

"Yes, but he’s…"

"He’s lucky to have someone like you in his life. Just like me. I’ll never stop blessing the day I saw David on the street and followed him to Salante’s."

David’s head spun back toward his lover. "You followed me, baby? I never realized!"

Kane leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You can be insufferable enough, when you want. Your ego doesn’t need more stroking."

"Yes, it does, baby," David contradicted. "When you’re doing the stroking."

Benita cleared her throat. Two sets of eyes reluctantly broke off their silent communication.

"Anyway, I think it’s high time he introduce you to his family," the younger man stated.

"They’re going to hate me!"

"They’re going to love you!"

"That’s what Guy said." Glumly, Benita regarded the remains of her coffee, wondering if one could read the future in coffee grounds as well as in tealeaves. "But you know these old money types. They’re so protective of the oldest son. And they’ll want pedigreed offspring."

David paused in massaging Kane’s foot against his arousal. "Who’s talking children?" he asked with interest.

"No one." Her response was too quick.

"Benita, is Guy asking you to marry him?"

She looked miserable. "It’s impossible. I’m…"

"Don’t say it!" David snapped.

"…just not suitable. What did you think I was going to say?" The psychic was very aware of her friend’s protectiveness toward her. "Oh shit!"

The doorbell rang a split second later, followed by a thunderous knocking. "I wonder who that could be?" David murmured dryly. He gave Kane’s toes a final squeeze and released his foot. Then he rose to answer the door.

The pair remaining in the kitchen could hear the muted rumbling of the conversation in the front hall.

"It’s Guy," Benita sighed, and Kane grinned at her.

"It could be Mike," he suggested.

She curled her lip and folded her arms across her chest. "It’s Guy."

David returned, projecting a cheerful front. "It’s Guy, everyone!"

Kane choked on his sip of coffee and began to laugh.

The Frenchman scowled at the younger man before turning to his lover. "You’ve been avoiding me."

"Not at all. I’ve had things to do."

"Really?" His voice was so silky that she went pale. David stepped to her side. And then Kane was on her other side.

It was so reminiscent of the night he had first met them, that for a moment he was taken aback. He knew that if he took his foul temper out on the actor, the younger man would leap to his defense. Nothing would be settled. And he definitely wanted Benita’s agreement to meet his family.

He backed off.

To his surprise, the actor took his part. "Give the man a break, Nita. Don’t let wrong-headed notions keep you apart."

She worried her lower lip, and the desire to draw that lip into his own mouth swept over de Villiere. As sophisticated as he was, he felt himself flush as he hardened.

Her gaze dropped from his and landed unexpectedly at his crotch. Guy was making no effort to disguise his arousal. Dark eyes tangled with dark eyes, and then she gave in.

"Where, Guy?"

He took her hand and raised it to his lips, caressing it with his open mouth. "You won’t regret it, I promise you! I’ve taken the small banquet room at Amore’s."

David began to choke. "The small one?"

Benita looked suspicious. "What’s up with the small banquet room?"

Kane dissolved into a fit of snickering. "That’s the one that can seat one hundred and fifty people."

"And that’s the smaller one? Guy, I don’t know a hundred and fifty people!"

De Villiere remained silent.

David grinned and turned away. "If people are going to come calling at such ridiculous hours of the morning, I need to get some clothes on. Come on, Kane."

"No, that’s all right, David. I’ll be along shortly."

"*Now*, Kane!" He took his lover by the arm and proceeded to drag him from the room.

"I was enjoying that, you know!" they heard the younger man complaining. "You never let me have any fun! Dav…!"

The rest of his gripe was cut short, leaving no doubt of how the older man silenced him.

"Bien-aimee."

Benita looked away shyly. This was the first time that Guy had called her ‘sweetheart’, and she didn’t know how to react to it. She got down a mug and poured him a cup of coffee.

All she could give him was half a cup. "Sorry, this is all that’s left."

Guy took the mug and set it aside. Then he took her in his arms. "N’important! Baise-moi, aimant! Kiss me!"

She turned her face away. "But, Guy. A hundred and fifty people!"

He wound his fingers in her thick hair and urged her mouth closer.

"Don’t worry about it, p’tite bijou. The rest of my family can meet you another time!"

Part 24

They stood in the entrance of the small banquet room of Amore's, drawing avid eyes, the tall, striking actor, the petite, dark-haired woman slightly behind him, and the young man whose hand rested familiarly on the actor's arm.

Small was a misnomer. It was filled with more than a hundred and fifty people, most of whom were Guy de Villiere's relatives.

Waiters traveled swiftly between tables, carrying trays of hors d'oeurves and taking drinks orders.

The pair with David McMillan stayed close, Kane because he loved the dark haired man, and Benita because she was scared to death.

Guy had worn down her resistance and persuaded her to come to this party to meet his family, and she had regretted it ever since. "I *know* he's going to tell them he wants to marry me, and they're *all* going to *hate* me!"

"Y'know, for a psychic, you're not handling this very well, Nita," David murmured.

Benita glared up at her friend. "I'll handle this however I damn well please!" She ruined the effect by moaning softly under her breath. "Oh, God, I feel sick!"

Kane leaned around his lover. "You'll be fine, Benita. You're a wonderful woman, and Guy is lucky to have found you. If I didn't love David, I'd just be so jealous!"

"Yeah? You think? Okay, let me take a few breaths."

David smiled above their heads, his eyes traveling over the crowded room, ignoring the interested looks he was getting, searching for de Villiere.

"Signore McMillan." A waiter deferentially touched David's sleeve.

"Yes?" he responded idly.

"Signora de Villiere wishes to speak with you."

"*Who*?"

"The lady at the head table."

"Kane, keep an eye on Benita, will you? Make sure she doesn't take off. I'll be right back."

With the easy expertise of his own years as a waiter, David made his way to the other side of the room.

The woman who awaited him impatiently would have been attractive if it hadn't been for the tight, discontented line of her mouth. Her hair, which was a rich auburn, was expertly coiffed, and he just knew her watered silk gown, which showed off her elegant figure, had an exclusive designer label sewn into the seam.

"Madame de Villiere?"

"Mr. McMillan," she responded coldly, and David's brows met in surprise. Hostility was rolling off the woman in waves. "Forgive me, I have not time to be polite. What connection do you have to my stepson?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"What are you to Guy?"

David stopped a passing waiter and took two flutes of champagne from his tray. He handed one to the woman who sat rigidly before him. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Madame."

"Everyone knows that Guy is bisexual."

David began choking on his wine.

"And word has gotten back to me that he is forever seen in your company!"

David gasped and choked some more, tears starting to stream down his face.

Her eyes traveled insultingly over his body, and she sneered. "Do you deny it, you...you *actor*?"

David finally managed to catch his breath. "Guy sails both sides of the lake? *Our* Guy?"

"*Our* Guy? Merde! I *knew* he was having an affair with you, amoral fool that he is! I can see how your looks would attract a man of his caliber. Very well, you will cease seeing him immediately! And of course, I will make it worth your while!"

David realized politeness would afford him nothing with this woman. "Why?" he asked baldly.

She gaped at him, then snapped her mouth shut. "Because I have decided that Guy can do better than a mediocre actor!"

David decided the best way to deal with the situation was with humor. "I'm deeply hurt, Madame. You don't think I'm worthy of your stepson?"

"Who isn't worthy of me?" Guy had appeared so silently that neither combatant was aware of his approach. David grinned at the wealthy man, but the woman before them just gritted her teeth.

"You know your father would be severely disappointed in you if he knew you chose to tie up your life with this man!" she snapped.

"McMillan? Papa would have loved David. He always was partial to Shakespearean actors. I might even have been forced to fight him for David's favors."

Madame de Villiere's lushly painted mouth dropped open. "Your father...your *father*..."

"Oh, surely you knew he never let the beliefs of the bourgeoisie apply to his own appetites?" Guy murmured as he picked a piece of lint off his elegant black tuxedo.

"That's a lie!"

His expression was hard. "Yes it is. And so it is if anyone links my name with this man's!"

She looked stunned. "Then who...?"

Guy signaled to the young man who, while filling a plate with Amore's delicious hors d'oeuvres, was keeping a surreptitious eye on his lover.

Kane hurried to where the trio waited, trailing Benita along behind him, aware of the sudden silence that enveloped the room. He smiled into his lover's dark eyes and proffered the plate of goodies.

"I wasn't sure what you'd want. See anything here that tempts you?" Kane asked saucily.

"As a matter of fact..." David drawled, drawing the younger man to his side. His posture made it quite plain that this pair was a...*pair*.

Madame de Villiere's face became flushed with anger. "Are you trying to make a fool of me?" she demanded.

"Not at all, Madame," Guy answered coldly. "You seem to be doing that quite well, all on your own. I'm sure you've seen Kane at various Community functions. David belongs to him!"

The actor leaned over and whispered in his lover's ear, "Do you have any idea how hot that makes me? Being referred to as yours?"

Kane's chocolate brown eyes grew sultry, and promised a torrid time in their bed when they got home. "Are you sure you haven't changed your mind about me keeping you?"

"I want you to belong to me for all time, just as I intend to be yours," David stated softly, rubbing the tiger's-eye ring Kane was never without. He drew the younger man into an affectionate embrace.

"Oh, I like how that sounds!" Kane murmured, resting his head against his lover's chest. "Can we go home soon?"

David smiled down into Kane's' slightly flushed face. "As soon as Guy announces his engagement," he promised.

"*What*?" Madame de Villiere shrieked, and conversation throughout the room once again came to a halt.

"Well, that's letting the cat out of the bag, David. Thanks so much!" De Villiere reached for a spoon and tapped lightly on his glass. "My dear family, if I might have your attention for one moment? I would like to present to you all my fiancee, Benita..."

There was another scream of rage. "Of all the women in this town, you select a whore? I will not allow you to disgrace the name of de Villiere!" She turned to Benita, ready to spew her bile on the woman she considered so out of her league. "You trollop! You tramp!" She lowered her voice. "You fucking bitch!"

Benita opened her eyes very wide. "Did you just call me a fucking bitch? I'm so sorry, but if you're not calling me a bitch with a capital B, I simply can't accept that!"

Snickers from the very people whose opinion mattered so much to her destroyed what was left of her composure.

Guy's stepmother struck out with the sequined bag that dangled from her wrist. Who would have thought such a little purse could be so crammed full with a feminine arsenal of cosmetics?

Guy shoved Benita behind him. David shoved Kane out of the way.

Time seemed to slow and stand still. The blow landed. And then David stared stupidly at the older woman as she stood panting in front of him from the exertion of swinging her weapon.

Blood began pouring from his nose, and he sat down abruptly on the floor, his hands attempting to stem the tide.

Kane uttered a cry of distress and went down on his knees beside his lover. David looked blankly from his stained hands to his young lover. "Baby, I'm bleeding!"

Benita thrust a linen napkin into Kane's hands, and he took it thankfully, holding it to his lover's nose. "Is it broken, Slick?"

"Shit, baby, did it hurt this much the time I hit you?"

Kane became alarmed. "It hurts that bad?" Carefully he felt the abused nose, and breathed a sigh of relief. "No, it isn't broken. Just dented a little!" He buried his head in David's shoulder. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Baby, let's go home!"

****

Guy stepped forward and took his stepmother's wrist in a punishing grip. He signaled to security. "Madame is not feeling well. See that she is escorted home, and does not leave!"

"You'll want to speak with her later, sir?"

"Tomorrow. I have nothing to say to her at this moment. She has succeeded in disrupting my fiancee's special day!"

"Very good, sir." The man relieved Guy of his stepmother, and hustled the subdued woman out of the restaurant.

An insistent hand was tugging on Guy's sleeve. His frozen expression changed to one of fond exasperation. "What is it, mon petite chou?"

"Please, Guy, do not be cross with Maman!"

"'Tienne..."

"Please, Guy. *Please*! She hasn't been well!"

The wealthy man crouched down until he was at eye-level with his younger brother. He ran his hand through the boy's thick, dark hair, so like his own. "All will be well, little cabbage. Do not fret so. I will take care of everything." He got the attention of the boy's nanny. "See to it that Etienne has his dinner, and then take him home."

Guy turned to speak with his fiancee, but she was gone.

****

Benita opened the door to David and Kane's home, hurrying to the kitchen. She turned on the tap and grabbed a clean dishtowel from the drawer where they were kept. When the water was warm enough, she stuck the towel under the faucet and soaked it.

By the time she got back to the front door, Kane was solicitously helping his lover into the foyer.

Benita tipped David's head back, brushing the hair out of his eyes. Kane took the once white napkin from the older man, and the psychic carefully wiped the blood from his face. She held the towel to his nose, which, she was pleased to see, had finally stopped bleeding.

"I'm so sorry, David!" Guy stood hesitantly at the door, uncertain of his welcome.

David waved a negligent hand at him. It was the hand that held the towel, and his lover shoved it back under his nose.

"Kane, take David up to bed. Guy will help me lock up, and I'll come by to see you in the morning." She pressed a warm kiss to David's cheek, stroked Kane's, and watched as they went up the curving staircase to their second floor suite.

Guy watched the psychic step into the powder room and wash the blood off her hands. "Benita?"

"Guy?"

"Don't toy with me. Are you going to terminate our engagement?"

"Why? Do you want me to?"

"Well, no. No, of course not!"

She looped her arms around her lover's neck and pressed herself against his lean body. "Then I rather think I won't."

"You won't?"

"Guy, I'm a dominatrix. It's what I do, very well I might add. I think I just might want to see how your stepmamma looks in black leather."

The image of his belle mere in a dog collar and torso harness burst full-blown into Guy's mind, and he shuddered.

Part 25

The tiny set of bells above the door of the Lite and Bite Deli tinkled, signaling the entrance of another customer. Mike wasn't surprised; it was noon, one of the busiest hours of his day. He and the two people he had hired when he first came home to help his Pop out of a tight spot put together one order after another while his old man sat in his wheelchair by the register and rang up the orders.

What did surprise Mike was who the latest customer was: David McMillan, his best friend's lover. Mike felt his heart lurch. "What's wrong?" he demanded. He knew he wasn't David's most favorite person in the universe. That spot was reserved for Kane, the young man David had committed himself to.

But Mike was so far down on the chain of people David even tolerated, that he feared the only reason the actor was here now was because something had happened to Kane. The younger man's kidnapping by his own father was still fresh in his mind.

David smiled ruefully, acknowledging the fact that there wasn't much love lost between him and his young lover's best friend. "Kane's fine, Mike. I just...I need to talk to you about something."

"*Me*?"

"*You*, Mike. I can wait until the rush is over."

"Thanks. I am a bit busy right now. Pop, get David a latte, okay?"

The older man nodded and competently wheeled his chair to get a styrofoam container and draw a coffee. When David tried to hand him payment, Mike's father waved it away. "Your money's no good here. Any friend of the little guy is worth at least a coffee."

"Hey, now, Pop! No need to go overboard!" Mike wrapped up a Rueben and marked something on the white paper while his old man laughed.

David took a seat at one of the few tables that was unoccupied and watched Mike handle the lunchtime crowd. He tried to think of the best way to broach the topic. It really wasn't that big a deal, except it *was* that big a deal, at least to him.

Finally Mike felt the crush had eased up enough for him to leave his help to deal with it. He poured himself a diet soda and approached David.

"Your nose doesn't look too bad. I guess the old bi--witch didn't break it?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. And she isn't really old!"

"No? Well, she's still a bi--witch! Candy and I heard all about it when we got to Amore's."

"You mean to say you missed all the excitement?"

"What can I tell you? We got there after it was all over. But it was the chief topic of conversation. It even overshadowed Guy's announcement that he was marrying Benita. And he wasn't too happy about that."

"He and Nita went back to Amore's after they left our place?"

"Would you believe he wanted to dance with her? Seems they had never danced before! Isn't that romantic?" Mike waited a beat, then changed the subject to what concerned him more than the rich man and the dominatrix. "Okay, McMillan, what's up?"

Now that the moment was at hand, David *still* didn't know what to say. "Um, how are things with you and Candy?"

Mike grinned. He knew David was skirting around the issue, but the truth was, he didn't mind talking about his lover. Candy had been making him nuts for weeks now. "Not too shabby, McMillan."

"She's had more than her share of bad relationships, you know."

"Including you?"

David looked uncomfortable. There had been a time years back when he was so uncomfortable with his sexual orientation that he had caved in to Candy's not-too-subtle pressure and had sex with her. It had only been a couple of times, and he had broken it off immediately. But although they remained friends, Candy never gave up the hope that David's homosexuality was just a passing phase, and that he would come back to her.

It never would have happened, even if he hadn't met Kane. Candy was at last starting to accept that.

"Yes, including me. And that asshole Robert. And Jeri." David was reluctant to bring up Jeri, the schoolteacher who had been Candy's sole experiment with alternate sexuality. She had broken Jeri's heart when she chose the bartender over her. Shortly afterwards, Jeri had given up her job and left town.

David wasn't sure how upfront Candy had been about the young woman. She did have a tendency to be less than forthcoming at times.

Mike looked at the actor through the fringe of blond hair that fell into his eyes. "Yeah, Candy told me about Jeri. It's no big deal, as long as she doesn't leave me for a woman."

"Would you let her go?" David asked, curious.

"Hell, no! I'd spank her bottom until it was bright red and spend the night making love to her until I changed her mind!"

"Spank her, huh?" David had sometimes incorporated that into his lovemaking. He had found that afterwards Kane was so hot he'd go off like a firecracker. Although he wasn't about to tell his lover's best friend about it. "We can't help whom we love. Can I offer you a word of advice about Candy."

Mike looked at him cautiously. "You can offer it. Doesn't mean I'll accept it."

"Fair enough. After you make love to Candy, don't ask her if she's come. She'll lie to you every time. She'll tell you it was great. She'll tell you you're the best lover she's ever had. She might even lie and tell you she *did* come, if you press her enough. But Candy doesn't like to lose control, as much as she might think she does."

"So, you're saying you never got Candy to come?"

"Yes. I think maybe the closest she's ever come to an orgasm supplied by a partner might have been with Jeri, and I think that's why she wouldn't continue that relationship. She was too afraid, so she went back to Robert the asshole, who was undemanding and predictable and safe."

"Thanks for telling me this, David. Nice of you to share what you know about Candy's psyche." There might have been a bite to his words, but Mike did not have the look of a jealous man. As a matter of fact, he was looking insufferably pleased with himself. "She did try to pull that with me last night. Fortunately, we were at my place. I think she always thought that multiple orgasms were just a fairy story, if you'll pardon my choice of words. So I just pulled out a few of my toys, and between me and them, the poor girl didn't stand a chance!"

David just sat there with his mouth gaping. He had never thought his former roommate would find someone who would take her measure, accept it and be willing to hang around. "Mike, I think I might come to like you!"

"Well, I'm all for giving friendship our best shot. And that would please Kane. Speaking of whom, if he's not in trouble, why did you need to see me?"

"I...I'm the one who needs a little advice, Mike. You see, it's about Kane's birthday..."

"Never tell me you forgot it, man! That will about break his heart! No, wait, you've got a couple of weeks." Mike regarded the actor carefully. "He never had a birthday when he lived at home, you know. I don't think his parents were ever around, and the servants couldn't have cared less."

"Oh, yes. His father was there for one of them, the bastard! Kane had just turned eighteen, although I didn't know that at the time."

"You cradle robber, you!" Mike chuckled, always fascinated when the actor revealed his deep feelings for his young lover.

David's face was flushed, but he grinned. "What can I tell you? The kid is irresistible!" His smile faded. "Kane's father showed up just after I had spent the night making love to his son, and he would have used the fact that Kane had taken me for his lover to try to break the trust."

Mike hissed something vitriolic under his breath, and David nodded in agreement. They both considered it a good thing that Kane's father was no longer in his life.

"Fortunately, Kane was of age, so that was a nasty bit of business he never had to deal with. That's why I could never forget it. His birthday, our anniversary. The thing is, I want to get him something really special this year, but I haven't a clue. What can I get for someone who can get whatever he wants all by himself?"

"And that's your question? What you should get Kane for his birthday? I should think you'd know anything from you would be precious to him."

David nodded. "I do know that. But still...You've known him longer than I have. Did he ever mention anything that he wanted, but that for some reason or other he just never had?"

Mike stared off into space, recalling the years since the young man had come into his life. Thoughtfully he ran his fingers over the side of his neck, inadvertently bringing David's attention to the livid love bite that was there.

Hmm, that was a thought. He hadn't marked his lover in some time. But that still didn't answer the question of what to give him for his birthday.

Suddenly, Mike sat up, almost knocking over his soda. "I've got it!" Then he sagged back into his seat. "No, I don't think you'd go for this idea."

"Mike, I'm desperate. At least tell me."

"Well, you see, McMillan. Kane has never had a puppy!"

Part 26

Kane was feeling morose.

It wasn't as if anyone had ever made a big thing of his birthday. His parents had never been in town for it, and even if they had, they didn't believe in such frivolous celebrations. He had never even gotten to blow out the candles on his cake.

He had never even had a cake.

Last year, though, that had changed. David had given him a birthday that still brought a glow to his cheeks. David had rented the Palladium for the entire night, and booked Kane's favorite alternative rock bands and invited all their friends. The gifts had been silly or raunchy, or in David's case, sweetly sentimental. And when they had gone home, David had made love to Kane all night long.

It was only one birthday out of nineteen. How foolish of him to feel bereft because his lover appeared to have forgotten his birthday this year.

David had given him so many other wonderful things. And in the not too distant future, they'd be getting married.

But still Kane was hurt that this year David didn't even try to subtly discover what he might want for his birthday. He didn't even tumble him back into bed this morning, covering him with birthday kisses.

"Um, do you know what today is, David?"

David squinted at the mirror, trying to make sure the tie he wore was suitable. He had another audition, this time for the role of Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, and he was already working himself up into a bundle of nerves.

"Wednesday, baby?"

"Well, yes. But do you know what else today is?"

David had hurried to the bed and given Kane a quick kiss. "Third Wednesday in the month? I've got to run, baby. I won't be able to make dinner tonight."

"David! You promised! We were going to..." But David was already running down the curving stairs to the first floor of their home. Kane hadn't even had time to offer to drive him to the theater. "Break a leg, slick," he murmured.

He was about to indulge in a pity party when the phone rang. "H'llo."

"Kane, it's Jacques. I need you to come in tonight. Half the staff has called in sick!" Jacques was the manager of Salante's, the trendy restaurant when Kane had found the man who would be his one true love. When David left to pursue acting permanently, Kane had been promoted from busboy to waiter. And now he was in line for position of headwaiter, the youngest Salante's had ever employed.

"Oh. Sure, Jacques. No problem. No, I've got no plans. I'll be in at seven, all right?"

"NO! I mean, no, I need you to help me get everything set up, we're having a private party here tonight! Can you be here for five?"

For a moment Kane wondered if it might be a surprise party for him, but then he banished that thought. It was too obvious, and David was nothing if not avant-garde. "All right, Jacques. I'll be there."

The other man barely managed to restrain a sigh of relief and say good-bye before hanging up the phone.

Kane replaced his receiver. His self-pity gone, the young man decided to clean the house.

And then he would take one of their joint credit cards and buy himself the most fabulous, the most *expensive* birthday gift he could find!

****

As promised, Kane arrived at Salante's at five, and was promptly put to work. He folded napkins in lovely, intricate patterns. He set up place settings. He procured fresh flowers and put them in the bud vases. He did all the things he had done as a busboy, but had not had to do since his promotion.

And despite Jacques' words to the contrary, the entire Wednesday night staff seemed to be there. Starting to feel more than a little put upon, Kane went to the manager, who was just hanging up the phone.

"Jacques, what's up? You really didn't need me here tonight! You've got more than enough staff, and I'm just doing make work!"

The manager gave a heavy sigh. "I don't know what it is with these people, Kane. They call in sick, they show up. No sense of order! I'm sorry I ruined your evening. You want dinner? Come, sit, I give you dinner, okay? You all right, Kane? You look a little down tonight."

"Well, I'd kind of been hoping I'd have dinner at Amore's tonight."

"What, Salante's not good enough for you?"

"I'm sorry, Jacques, I didn't mean anything. Of course Salante's is good enough. But I wanted to go someplace special...Oooh!" he moaned. "I'm sorry, I just keep putting my foot in my mouth!"

Jacques kept his mouth primmed, but secretly he was delighted to see his normally unflappable waiter shaken. Surreptitiously he glanced at the clock over the bank of ovens. "I'm just teasing you, Kane. You a good boy. Go on home now. That's the best place for you to be."

"Sure. I'll see you on Friday." That was the start of his regular workweek. The manager waved him into his black Porsche and watched as Kane drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

Then he dove for the telephone and punched in a number he was too familiar with. It was answered on the first ring. "David? He's on his way!"

****

The house was in darkness when Kane pulled into the circular drive. He really should put the Porsche in the garage, but he was so emotionally exhausted. His depression from the morning had returned.

And he was starting to worry about the gift he had bought himself. Sinfully elegant, sinfully luxurious, even more sinfully expensive, it was an extremely rare, black Russian sable coat with a pure silk lining. It was being displayed to a customer of the consignment shop, who decided the price tag was a little *too* steep.

Kane had fallen in love with the beautiful fur. And then he discovered that it had a provenance that was in itself most impressive. It had been ordered exclusively for a well-known Hollywood leading man of classic 40s film noir, whom David worshipped. The replacement value was astronomical, but for some reason the owner was willing to sell it at a fraction of the cost. Kane had closed his eyes, held his breath and tendered the charge card.

He paused with his foot on the bottom step. Surely he had left the security light on? Then again, perhaps he hadn't. He climbed the stairs and inserted his key into the lock.

There was a curiously expectant atmosphere to the house. And then lights flashed on, noisemakers sounded and people popped up from behind furniture and jumped out from behind doors.

"Happy Birthday, Kane!"

The young man stood there staring at his friends. And at Benita and Guy, Mike and Candy, and David- his family.

His breath snagged in his throat and he blinked furiously to prevent tears from falling. While everyone was singing "For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, and so say all of us!" David walked up to him, his arms tentatively outstretched.

"I didn't forget, baby! How could I?"

With a muffled sound that might have been a sob, Kane threw himself into his lover's arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, David. Thank you!"

Gently the older man ran his thumb under Kane's eyes and gathered the moisture that was spiking his lashes. He licked the salty drops from his finger, and Kane buried his face against him. "I love you, David."

"I love you too, baby. And I have a special present for you." David was starting to get very nervous over this idea. After all, it was a big commitment. And maybe Mike was wrong; maybe Kane had outgrown his boyhood desire for a puppy.

Kane dried his eyes on the heels of his hands and smiled at his lover. "Whatever you give me will be special."

"Yes, well..."

A high-pitched bark interrupted him. Kane frowned at the older man. And then a woman he didn't know came forward with the most beautiful little puppy Kane had ever seen. He looked from David to the puppy to the woman, and back to David.

The woman extended her hand. "I'm Viola Challenger. I breed Golden Retrievers. And this little lady now belongs to you!"

"Mine?" Kane's voice was just above a whisper. "She's mine?"

David nodded, fairly sure that the young man was happy about his gift, but still not certain. "Do you like her?"

"Like her?" Kane dropped to his knees and let the puppy come to him. Wagging her little tail so hard her whole hind end shook, she tried to climb onto his knees, and yipped her displeasure when she couldn't. "Oh, you are a sweetie! What's her name?" he asked Mrs. Challenger as he scooped her up and nestled her to his chest.

"Well, since she's your dog, young man, I imagine that's up to you to decide." She handed him a packet of papers. "You'll want to register her with the Kennel Club. Her lines go back to the first Goldie registered in the United States in 1925, and I've given you an extensive family tree. She's show quality. Your...friend ... wasn't sure if you'd want a show dog or not, but just in case you do decide that's what you'd like to do, you should have no problem with that."

David had come up behind Kane and wrapped his arms around his lover. The woman became exceedingly uncomfortable. Kane was oblivious. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Challenger."

Her eyes had taken on a rather glassy look, and she ignored the hands that both men held out to her. Mike touched her shoulder. "You'll be wanting to leave now, I assume. Thank you for bringing the puppy." He led her to the door, and shut it with a little more force than was perhaps warranted.

"I'm sorry, David. If I'd known she was like that, I'd never have recommended her!"

David waved aside his apology, although he was disturbed. The woman had not seemed homophobic when he had first met her. But then again, she hadn't known of his relationship with Kane, either.

Kane couldn't have cared less. He was the perfect guest of honor. He oohed and ahhed over each of his gifts, which covered the needs of his new pet. A crate, food and water dishes, chew toys, a leash and collar. And a very large supply of weewee pads.

Benita wheeled out the birthday cake and Kane flushed a deep red. "Oh!"

And as everyone sang Happy Birthday, this time, the young man blinked repeatedly.

"Make a wish, baby!" David said softly as he stood behind Kane, encircling his waist.

Kane leaned back and kissed his lover's jaw. "You've already made them all come true!"

END PART 26