SEVEN
Micah pulled up the FBI file on the house fire. The one his friend sent that afternoon from a secure account. Meaning he’d borrowed it without permission. Micah flipped through reports and interviews and photos that made him want to purge his dinner.
The Auberon heir James and his wife Dinah had been executed. Shot through the head in their bedroom. Their bodies burned to hide the crime. While the kid and the kid’s nanny had simply disappeared. Kit had been eight at the time.
Reginald Auberon Kit’s grandfather was still alive. He’d taken the boy in when he was found, but he died a few years later leaving him with no other relatives but his mother’s only brother. The same brother who had hired Micah with little explanation as to the world he was walking in to.
Rochfort had been on staff at the manor back then but wasn’t the head butler. Back then there was a full staff and he’d been the elder Auberon’s personal assistant of some kind..
That afternoon as he and Rochfort toured the grounds Micah questioned him as much as he could—mostly about Kit—and Rochfort had been very closed mouthed. Loyalty Micah understood, but this degree of loyalty he didn’t get. Kit Auberon was a virtual prisoner in his own house and everyone seemed to have a reason to keep him this way. And now it seemed someone on the outside was trying very hard to get inside, and it was being treated as if things like this happened every day.
Spencer, the driver, was out for the day. His wife was expecting and was having pains. There were two day guards, one at the front gate and one who worked with the dogs and patrolled the grounds. After that, the groom Patrick, turned dog wrangler. And then there was the people who came and went and the caretaker that oversaw everything but the house. And Micah was confused as to how all of these people fit into any of this.
“Are you awake?” The voice came from his computer, the mute button had been over ridden but other than that his screen stayed the same. A chat box popped up from an unknown messenger service.
I’m awake. You hacked my computer. Micah typed in answer.
Only a little bit. I haven’t invaded your privacy if you were wondering.
You still hacked me. Doesn’t make me happy.
Sorry. You don’t have an intercom in the room. And your phone is off.
Micah checked his phone. Sure enough it had died and he hadn’t noticed. He plugged it in and went back to the computer.
It was dead. Is there something you need? Is there a problem?
No. Not like last night. I’m awake. It’s late. No one to talk to.
So you figured you’d scare me to death because you’re lonely?
Pretty much. :-)
Don’t smiley face at me.
:-(
Micah laughed. So ????
Come play with me. Bring food.
Ah so you want someone to raid the pantry for you. What did you do before I showed up?
Starved.
Poor baby.
Bring food and come play with me. I need to beat you at this game.
Micah sighed and closed down the illegal files before Kit really did hack into his computer and snoop. The thought of spending more time with the man should have irritated him, but the respite from another night of boredom was indeed welcome.
Be right there. Let me get some clothes on.
See you soon.
Micah signed off and found sweatpants and a long sleeve T-shirt in his suitcase. He hadn’t unpacked yet. Maybe he wasn’t sure he’d be staying. At least not yet. Maybe he’d get around to unpacking tomorrow.
He drifted through the darkened house on bare feet. Stopping in the kitchen he raided the fridge and pantry of cheese and fruits and crackers, whatever he could find to make sandwiches or something in Kit’s small kitchenette.
When he got to the outer door it buzzed open and swung closed behind him. Kit met him in the little kitchen. His hair was pulled back in a smooth ponytail at that back of his neck. He wore another pair of the loose pants and the wrap robe in a bright green color.
“Don’t you own any normal clothes?” Micah asked before he thought better of it.
Kit showed him his middle finger. But he smiled and followed that up by signing, “none of your business.” Which it wasn’t. And then the sign for food and yum. Kit took the containers from him and got out a couple of plates. He pointed to the small fridge and Micah grabbed a couple of beers. Kit smiled and nodded.
“Sorry for asking.” Micah popped the tops on the drinks and helped Kit assemble sandwiches. “So what other games have you made? Do I know any?”
Kit smiled, his eyes lighting up at the topic. He signed the names of a couple of very popular games.
“Whoa, dude, those are awesome. And you designed them?” He followed Kit back to the atrium and the wall of television screens instead of the game room. The lounge chairs from the room had been dragged in and a small table set up between them. Kit pulled up the game on the largest screen and picked up the small keyboard.
“I don’t do the computer graphics, no. I work with a company who does that. They base the games off my art and I help write the scripts. I do help with animation clean up and I beta test. I like games. I like to help create games that I can’t beat.” His electronic voice spoke for him but Micah could see that he loved talking about his work.
“Still, it’s not something I know shit about. It’s awesome that you can do something like that.” Micah sat in one of the oversized beanbags that probably cost more than the furniture in his whole living room back home.
The game came on and they sat in the mostly dark room under the stars playing and eating. Kit would sometimes use the keyboard to speak to him but he stayed mostly quiet while Micah got worked up when the game became more and more complicated with each level.
“Your military knowledge scares me,” Micah said when he’d lost another life.
“I’ve watched a lot of war films. But that’s not real. I’ve been able to get my hands on real training videos. Legally. I swear. No hacking. We try for realism but not to the point that we’re going to harm the real military. I’ve had some former military advisors from all of the branches as consultants. I’m happy you like it.”
“You’re just happy I lost.” Micah put down the controller. His eyes were starting to water from hours of staring at the screen.
“That too,” Kit said, his computer voice smug. “Tired?”
“Yeah, you wore me out. I’m ass hurt over it too.”
“That’s what she said.” Came the laughing reply.
“No she about it, in my case that would be that’s what he said.” For some reason Micah felt strangely comfortable joking about his sexuality with Kit. He wouldn’t have said that around any of his friends. Hell, he wouldn’t have said that around Kit yesterday. Something had changed.
“Is that what they would say? Your lovers? About you?” The words almost tentative, as if it embarrassed him to even ask.
Micah turned the seat to face Kit. He couldn’t see his face all that well in the dark. The moon and stars overhead their only lighting. “Maybe. I’d hope. I’ve never really asked. We have sex. He goes home or I go home. Sometimes there might even be more. Because of my job, though, that was very rare. I moved around too much. Then there was the little problem of being military during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. And law enforcement has never been overly accepting of homosexuality. So I guess all I can say is I’d hope some guy would think of me as a good time. Maybe even his best time. But I wouldn’t know.”
Kit dragged his chair round to face him as well, he sprawled his long body out on the chair, and his legs spread, feet framing Micah’s. “I’ve never had a lover.” There was no emotion in the words. Micah wondered if maybe he only heard emotion where there was none, but this time, the words were just words.
“Do you regret that?” Some devil was riding him. Kit wasn’t offering himself up to Micah. Hell, he was his employer, even having this conversation should go against every code Micah had for himself.
Kit made an exasperated sound, a real sound, there was no voice to it, just an airy frustration. “Until yesterday I never thought about it. I’m a virgin. So what? I’m not…” He paused for a long time, he stared up at the ceiling his long throat exposed. Micah saw him swallow. His body reacting to the man and the conversation. “Normal. I’m damaged. That part of me, mentally, is damaged. I don’t think about sex. I’ve never thought about sex.”
“But that changed yesterday?” Was it coincidence that Kit’s new found frustration arrived at the same time as Micah? Or was Micah reading in too much.
“Kady pointed out that I have no idea what the other maid…what’s her name? Miranda? Even looks like. But you called me beautiful and…I don’t know what to think about what she said…that maybe I needed a boyfriend.”
Micah snorted, and tried not to choke. “And she decided I would make a good boyfriend?”
Kit raised his head to look at him, a grin spread out on his face. He signed. “She did.”
And fuck if Micah’s dick didn’t sit up and agree with that idea. He crossed his leg over his knee to hide the evidence from his…boss. Kit was not ever going to be anything but a friend and even there he was crossing so many lines.
“I’m not saying I agree.” Kit’s voice came over the speakers as Micah tried to get his body under control. “I just, maybe, wanted to warn you that she might play matchmaker or something.”
There was serious embarrassment on Kit’s part. He was trying to backpedal. “But you’re not the slightest bit interested in maybe finding out if you might be normal or would you consider being gay as abnormal?” And maybe, there was a nasty little devil riding him. One that wanted to know exactly what his chances with someone like Christopher Auberon might be.
“I didn’t say that I thought homosexuality wasn’t normal. I said I’m not normal. But I don’t know what normal is. So why are you putting words in my mouth.”
“Considering that your words come from your hands that would be an interesting fete wouldn’t it. Like I can cure whatever it is that keeps you from speaking. Repair damaged vocal cords. I am a miracle worker. I should go heal people instead of sitting up at three in the morning babysitting your ass.” Micah had no idea why he went on the defensive. He didn’t like where this was going. Maybe he was pissed that he really was just an overpaid babysitter.
“You can’t cure what isn’t broken.” Kit’s voice sounded bitter. Almost hard.
“What do you mean? What isn’t broken?” Maybe Micah really was confused when the electronic thingie could elicit this much of a response from him. It was just words. There was no emotion there at all. He was delusional.
“There’s nothing wrong with my vocal cords. I’m healthy. I just can’t speak. I’ve tried. So hard. Nothing comes out. The doctors don’t understand. They all say it’s psychological. I don’t remember how I got the scar or anything else from that time. I…am broken. And there is no fixing crazy. I’m not gay. I’m not straight. I’m not even real. Just some ghost living in this house while the world goes on without me. That’s not normal. And even if I could have some sort of real life who’d want to share it with me?”
Micah could have sworn he heard tears in the voice, but Kit didn’t cry. His face didn’t screw up as if he would. His eyes didn’t glimmer. Nothing. He was…nothing. Just like he said. Some pale shadow taking up space. No emotion. And Micah’s heart bled for him.
“Come here.” He didn’t know why he said that. He reached out for Kit’s hand and pulled him from the seat into his lap. Kit looked startled and tried to scramble away, but Micah held him. “Be still. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Kit didn’t have his voice. He didn’t sign. He blinked rapidly, his eyes seeming to grow larger, the blue almost visible this close. He was all silver in the moonlight. And scared. Micah took one of his hands and held it. He twined their fingers together and rubbed the back of Kit’s hand with his thumb. Kit shivered once and relaxed against him. Sitting across Micah’s legs he leaned into the seat beside him. Curiosity clear on his face now that Micah hadn’t done anything but hold his hand.
“I’m gay. And you did this to me. I won’t try to even deny that I find you incredibly attractive and I’d enjoy taking you to bed.” Micah nudged his aching erection into Kit’s hip. Noting as he did the lack of response. “I won’t force myself on you. If you want me. Even a little. Maybe…now would be the time to find out what your normal is. You know, when Kady pushes the boyfriend thing again.”
Kit crawled from his leaning position and Micah let him go. He promised that he wouldn’t force him. He didn’t expect the man to straddle his legs and lean into his face. Big curious eyes were all Micah could see before Kit’s lips closed over his.
*
So this was kissing? Kit had seen it on television a million times. The parting of lips to taste another’s. Beastly’s lips tasted of beer. Kit licked him. And Beastly opened his mouth to lick him back. The touch of a man’s tongue on his was confusing. Kit pulled back a little to study Beastly’s face. His eyes were half closed, one side of his mouth tilted up slightly at the corner. His breath was a bit shallow.
Kit traced his thumb across Beastly’s bottom lip. The sound that came from the man was warm on Kit’s face. The bulge Beastly had pressed into him grew larger, longer, and hotter, everywhere Kit touched it. He wanted to see it. He wanted to know what Beastly would look like aroused. He’d never seen a man in a state of arousal and here one was, squeezed between Kit’s legs, giving him permission to satisfy his curiosity.
Of course, Kit had never seen a woman in full arousal either. He’d seen nude women. But how did one tell when a woman was sexually aroused? Beastly was hard beneath him. Reacting to his touch. Kit kissed him again. This time letting Beastly take his mouth roughly. He swept his tongue inside Kit’s mouth. Licking him. He moaned into Kit’s mouth. And Kit pulled back again.
“You’re studying me?” Beastly growled at him this time as he flailed back on the seat in frustration. “And it’s fucking turning me on.”
Kit leaned over him, using this knowledge to see what else he could do to Beastly. He wanted to see skin. He wanted Beastly to show himself to Kit. He slipped his fingers under the hem of Beastly’s t-shirt and pushed it up the man’s body. There was a scar somewhere on this body and he wanted to see it. Scars fascinated him.
Beastly lifted up to allow the shirt to slide out from beneath him. He raised his arms for Kit to pull the garment over his head. Lots of skin. No scar. Kit studied the contours of the man in the moonlight. His nipples were darker than his skin. Crisp hair surrounding the tight little peaks. More crisp hair spread out from his belly button, a darker line worked down from there to disappear inside his pants. The bulge seemed to point up the line and Kit noticed a gap at the waistband. He pulled that down to find Beastly’s engorged penis. Now free of the pants, it lay over the lower part of his abdomen, a clear sticky liquid forming a puddle where it rested.
Beastly growled at him again. This time he tugged at Kit’s robe. Kit clutched at his hands, but Beastly untied the belt anyway and pushed his robe down his arms. “If you get to look, I get to look.”
Kit nodded. Fair was fair. He had more scars for Beastly to find. Beastly’s body was flawless. His skin soft under Kit’s fingers. Kit watched him as he explored. His pupils took over his eyes as Kit gripped Beastly’s dick. “You keep that up, Kit, and I’ll come in your hand.”
Kit thought about that. He’d never seen anyone achieve orgasm. He’d never had an orgasm. He’d seen fake love scenes on TV but never anything that showed what the body did. He used the liquid now dripping steadily from the slit to explore the ridges of Beastly’s penis.
Beastly, for his part, writhed under Kit’s touch, his hips seemed to take on a mind of their own and he pumped his dick into Kit’s hand. Kit clenched him tighter. And the tighter he clenched the more frenzied Beastly pumped, the more his penis dripped. The harder Beastly breathed. The prettier he became.
“Fuck, Kit. You weren’t supposed to make me come.” He rammed his hips into Kit’s, hard and held his body up off the lounge chair. A thick ropey fluid spurted from him onto his chest. Some landing on Beastly’s chin. Some on Kit’s stomach.
So this was orgasm? Kit held Beastly’s penis until it grew soft in his hand. Beastly lay beneath him, cradled in the seat, his pupils returning to normal now that his body had calmed. He didn’t say anything as he sat up and dragged Kit against him.
The kiss was almost brutal. Kit let him ravage his mouth. It seemed the right thing to do after making the man lose control. He didn’t expect Beastly to grip him between his legs. Or the look in his eyes when he threw him onto the floor and lay on him.
“Stay down, Kit. And don’t look up,” Beastly shouted over the terrifying cracking sound that was like thunder in the quiet room.
Kit didn’t listen, he looked up, watching in horror as the glass panel overhead shattered and fell around them.
Micah tucked Kit’s head into his neck. His shout became a cry of pain as the room plunged into complete silence once more.