Joshua took the glass of wine from the steward, nodding his thanks. He
sipped the liquid, then turned to face Christophe, who was seated at the table
with him at his club. “And why do you look so happy?” Joshua asked.
Christophe was practically beaming with joy.
“Because you obviously failed in your attempt to seduce du Lac,” he said,
holding out his hand. “So I’m here to collect my gambling notes from you.”
Joshua raised a brow in question. “What led you to believe I didn’t seduce
Justin?”
“Because,” Christophe said, eyes losing a bit of their sparkle. “He spent
an entire week at your country place, and I was told you never went near him.”
“I’m not one to parade my personal pleasures in front of my guests,
Christophe,” Joshua scolded.
“What do you mean by that?” Panic started to creep into Christophe’s voice.
“I mean, that anything I did with Justin was done discreetly and in
private.”
“No, you didn’t,” Christophe scoffed. “You’ve been back in Paris for a
week. You would have told me before this.”
Now it was Joshua’s turn to smile brightly. “I’ve been…busy,” he said,
drinking his wine. He watched as Christophe sputtered and his face turned a
bright shade of red. “Oh, and I expect your debt to be paid within the month.”
“So?” Britney asked expectantly.
“So, what?” Justin said, shifting a bit uneasily on the settee.
The two friends were in the drawing room at Britney’s house in Paris. He and
Britney had returned together from Joshua’s country estate, but Justin had
dropped Britney off at her own house, then she hadn’t seen him for a week. She
knew he was in town; he wouldn’t have left Paris without saying good-bye. By
the third day without any word from Justin, Britney had let her curiosity get
the better of her. She sent her footman around to Joshua’s house to have him
ask the staff there. Sure enough, her instinct was right. Justin had been at
Joshua’s house since they’d returned from the country. Neither man had been
seen outside the house until today.
Britney reached over and hit him with her fan. “So, tell me about Joshua!”
she demanded.
Justin blushed up to his ears. “There’s nothing to tell,” he evaded. Again,
he shifted on the settee. Britney’s scrutiny was getting to him, no doubt
about it. He smiled, thinking he might as well tell her all about it.
“Alright, alright,” he said, laughing as she squealed in delight.
“Tell me everything!” she ordered.
Justin shook his head. “Surely not everything?”
“Yes, everything,” she demanded. “Where was it? When was it? How was it?”
“In his library. Late that last evening.” Justin blushed again, remembering
the passion of that night. “And it was wonderful.”
Justin almost fell off the settee as Britney launched herself at him, hugging
him tightly. “I’m so happy for you!” she said, holding him close.
Justin held her close for a bit, then pushed her back a bit, looking directly
into her eyes. “It’s not that good a thing, Britney,” he countered.
“Of course it is!” she scoffed, moving back to her own side of the settee
and smoothing out her voluminous skirts. “Love is always wonderful, Justin.”
“He doesn’t love me, Britney.” He shook his head ruefully, and looked at
her with solemn eyes. “And he’ll probably end up breaking my heart.”
Britney was prevented from answering by a loud commotion outside the drawing
room. Suddenly the door burst open and an enraged Christophe Patric stormed into
the room.
“Well, well, isn’t this a pretty sight,” he said.
“Claude!” Britney called out as her butler rushed into the room. Christophe
struggled against the hold he and a footman had on his arms. “Let him go,
Claude.” She watched as the two men released their hold of Christophe. But
they refused to leave the room. “What do you want, sir?” she asked politely.
“I’ve come to show you our marriage contract,” he said, removing a
document from his coat pocket.
“My father had no contract with you besides verbal,” Britney argued. “And
since his wishes in his will made it clear he wanted me to be in charge of my
own destiny, I chose not to honor it.”
Christophe approached them slowly, tapping the contract against his hand.
“Well, I have a contract right here,” he said. His mouth was smiling, but
his eyes were cold. Calculating. “And it has your father’s name on it.” He
held up a hand when she started to protest. “Did I mention I have friends,
close friends of mine and the king’s, who will swear that your father and I
signed this?”
“You’re mad,” Britney said. “I refuse to honor any such document.”
“You will have no choice, once I petition the king,” he said.
“Get out, Patric,” Justin ordered. “Your threats are empty, and your
presence here is unwelcome.”
Christophe laughed. “And the pup barks!” He stood face to face with Justin,
who didn’t flinch a bit. “I think you have very little room to talk, boy.
You’re just a merchant who has no standing at court.”
“Get out,” Justin ordered again.
“Or what?” Christophe laughed again. “You’ll overpower me? Throw me
out?” Christophe’s lifeless eyes traveled up and down Justin’s length.
“You’re just a silly boy, a sodomite who doesn’t know his place, except as
the prize in a bet between two of his betters.”
Justin merely smiled. “Was that supposed to hurt?”
“A bet?” Britney asked.
“Yes,” Christophe oozed. “I placed a wager with Chasez. Bet him he
couldn’t get into this one’s pants.” Again, the eyes up and down Justin.
“I guess I was wrong.”
Justin laughed. “Wrong about so many things, it seems,” he said, moving
suddenly and grabbing Christophe’s arm, spinning him around and pulling his
arm up his back. Justin twisted the limb painfully. “I know all about the
bet,” he whispered in Christophe’s ear, “and if you dare cross this houses’
threshold again, you won’t leave on your own feet.” He pushed Christophe
away. “Now get out of here, while you can still walk.”
“You will honor this contract, Mademoiselle,” Chris said, turning away and
waving it in the air. “You will marry me.”
The sound of the slamming door echoed throughout the house.
“Then
what happened?” Joshua asked, wringing out the sponge over Justin’s chest.
Justin had finally left Britney, at her urging, to return to Joshua’s
townhouse. He’d found the older man in the bath, and had needed his contact so
badly, Justin had stripped down and joined him. They lay now together,
Justin’s back against Joshua’s chest, as he told the tale of Christophe and
the marriage contract.
“We sent for her attorney, and he said he would look into immediately,”
Justin said. “I didn’t want to leave her, Joshua. She seemed so alone,
despite all her bravado.” Indeed, to Justin, Britney had seemed young and
vulnerable when he’d left, but she refused to allow him to stay.
“I’ll have my people look into tomorrow, Justin,” Joshua said, wrapping
his arms around the younger man. “I’ve grown very fond of Britney, and will
not allow anything to happen to her.” Joshua lifted a leg and hooked it over
one of Justin’s, rubbing the flesh against each other. “Though, I really
cannot fault Christophe too much,” he said, lips moving against Justin’s ear.
Justin was shocked, and tried to pull away. “What do you mean by that?” he
asked.
“Calm down,” Joshua said, pulling the boy back into the water next to his
chest. “All I meant is that without Christophe, we might not have met.”
Justin turned to look at Joshua, hoping his heart wasn’t in his eyes.
“That’s true,” he said, leaning in and grazing Joshua’s lips with his
own. “And thank you for telling me about the wager, your grace. Christophe did,
indeed, try to use that against me.”
Joshua’s eyes narrowed at the use of the title. “Justin, Justin, Justin,”
Joshua said, shaking his head. “What have I told you about using my title?”
He lifted a finger, placing it under Justin’s chin and raising his face to
Joshua’s. His hand moved slowly down Justin’s throat until it wrapped behind
Justin’s head, pulling him in close and sealing Justin’s mouth with his own.
Justin moaned as their lips fused, opening to each other to feast with tongue
and teeth. Joshua pulled apart, only to shift his attention to Justin’s
throat, scraping the sensitive flesh and licking the wounds well. At the same
time, Joshua maneuvered Justin to straddle his lap, the water of the bath
creating buoyancy that made their movements soft and gentle. Justin moaned as
flesh rubbed flesh, heat rubbed heat.
“Justin,” Joshua moaned, pulling the younger man up and spreading his legs
wider. “Justin, look at me,” he ordered. Justin did as instructed, blue eyes
locking.
“You’re more to me than a wager prize,” Joshua said fiercely. He reached
up and anchored Justin’s head with his hand. “Tell me you believe that.”
Justin nodded. “I believe you,” he said, raising up and impaling himself
upon Joshua’s hardness, making the other man scream.