CHAPTER 13
A/N – Hello everyone! I hope you're all well and haven't completely lost your patience with this ;))) Anyway, yeah, real life is eating up a lot of my time and my muses just don't come when I call them. They come when they want and give me whatever they see fit. Let's hope it's good this time, so enjoy the new chap ;)
"I really didn't think you'd be able to get all my money so soon," the Luxembourger observed in a conversational tone, over the soft clinging of coins.
Mathias had his back turned on the sorcerer, eyes trained on the peaceful little square visible from the study window. He couldn't watch the other counting the money he'd brought, the expression on the teen's face was enough to make him sick, so he remained with his hands stuffed limply in his pockets as he absently observed the rare passers by outside. The Grim didn't know what exactly about Luca Majerus disgusted him so – after all, he'd seen much worse in his time – maybe it was the thought of a heart already so rotten dwelling inside someone so short of years.
"My contractor got it," he replied, shrugging.
There was a pause in the other's clinging and Mathias instantly suspected that he'd given the wrong reply.
"Yeah? And what does your contractor do?"
"Why do you ask?" The Dane turned at last, meeting the boy's inquisitive turquoise gaze. Furthermore, had he aroused some unwanted interest by delivering the whole sum in one go? But then if he hadn't, Majerus might have charged some delay penalties, the last thing Mathias needed. Now he could only hope he could fend off whatever shit the other had coming his way.
Luca snorted, resuming his counting. "I've seen him, you know? Your contractor, he's so pretty… He's a prostitute, isn't he? One of those expensive ones?"
Oh. So he'd only meant to offend me, not that he nailed it, really… Mathias chewed on his bottom lip, fighting back the sudden impulse of asking whether Mrs. Majerus wasn't by any chance interested in his contractor, seeing how she was in the habit of paying men for the excitement she wasn't getting at home. Although the dainty Norwegian probably wasn't her type, the rough fighters down at the Arena being the sort she rather favored. No, better not delve into that topic and stir someone with the blind malice of a child.
"As you know, Grims really don't care what it is their contractors do, as long as their terms are met. And I've served worse."
The sorcerer snickered. "Well, yes, I see your angle here. But still, you know, as long as he doesn't somehow make you to put in some 'work' yourself…"
Alright, maybe that topic is worth delving into after all. "Actually, there's some good money to be made down at the Arena, one just has to win a couple of fights," the Dane stated with a small smile. "And most clients are women, so I don't see a problem with that. You'd be surprised to know who I've seen down there in the dungeons."
And they left it at that, Majerus being quick to steer the conversation away from a subject he clearly didn't want opened.
The museum basement slash awful dungeon holding the Magic Crime Department offices was unusually dark and quiet, even if Mathias could clearly sense the presence of his contractor within the walls. Jones and the Englishman were off somewhere for now, he noted, strolling down the corridor, his ear barely able to pick up any sounds. He wasn't feeling any better, in fact things had gotten worse – a dull headache stubbornly persisted under his brow, the burn in his stomach lingered on the verge of nausea and a cold sweat was making his dress shirt stick unpleasantly onto his back. Damn, now that the settlement with Majerus was finally out of the way, it was time to take care of this other issue somehow.
A desolate sight met the Dane's eyes upon cracking the door open and peeking into his sorcerer's bedroom. It was dark, except for the few strips of streetlamp light pouring in through the window near the ceiling and Lukas was sprawled up onto the mattress, face down, next to a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a small, empty glass phial. He wasn't sleeping though, because his breathing was shaky and irregular and he seemed to be trembling too. It almost looked like he was going through some really bad withdrawal symptoms.
Sighing, Mathias walked into the room and reached up to open the window, letting some fresh air in for a change.
"You don't look too well…" he pointed, leaning over the other's pathetic form and brushing a few damp strands from his face. "Is that how the charming gift is supposed to work? Because to me it feels like a bad flu or something."
"No… just…" Lukas groaned, rolling on his side with some difficulty and proceeding to curl into a tight ball. "… just… you want s-someone. B-but this is…" he paused and sniffed. "L-Like a punishment."
The Grim snorted. "So let me get this straight, if this had worked instead of backfiring, I would have… longed for you? And you thought I'd what, sit on my ass and shed bitter tears over my unrequited desire?"
The Norwegian didn't reply.
"You know, normally a contractor wears their protection charms at all times, except for when the Grim demands their payment, but ever since I showed up you've just stopped wearing them. So basically it's like you're permanently offering yourself to me."
Oh hell. Lukas hadn't considered that. But what good did the charms do if he was supposed to take them off at some point anyway? And that was why the whole contract thing was dangerous, in those moments the Grim could do some really nasty things to him aside from feeding! But whatever, perhaps it was a manner of limiting damage or some etiquette thing he'd missed when reading the book (seeing how he'd missed other important things too…).
"I don't…" he muttered, gritting his teeth. "… it's because I… trust you." Bullshit.
"Bullshit!" the Dane snorting, plopping down and making the bed creak loudly. "Anyway, this is really bad. Like a stupid sensation which just wouldn't let off," he said, not that Lukas needed to be told what it fucking felt like. "Did you try to… take care of it or something?"
"I did, it doesn't work," the pale blond grumbled, helplessly pressing the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. Damn, really not a topic he wanted to discuss with the Grim right now.
Kohler sighed deeply, shifting behind him. "Would my hand work then?" he inquired, stretching over his contractor's curled body to grab the empty phial and examine it.
"Not your hand," Lukas replied without thinking. The other being so close had been bad enough, but now that he was touching him, pressing against him (and he was heavy, too!) the discomfort was amplified tenfold. He groaned, trying to roll over and push the Dane's weight off him.
"What then?" The taller blond finally sat back on his heels, the fairy dust phial held carefully between his thumb and index finger as he looked at it in the light. "How the hell does this work, anyway? Do I have to say I love you? Pop the question? Or do we just have to fuck?"
The sorcerer let out a groan, forcing himself to sit up for a change. The vampire prince had been right – he'd done it this time, he'd fucked up and the Grim would not let him off the hook so easily. If he were honest, well, the man wasn't exactly one of those evil Grims the Book spoke of, but now Lukas had probably managed to push him in that direction and he had it coming too.
"That is out of the question!" he mumbled. "I can't-… I don't know what you think, but I'm not into-… I've never slept with a man, what the hell!"
"Well, I never slept with a man either, nor with any of my contractors to date," Kohler countered, a hint of offense in his tone. "And it's kind of unfair to make it sound like I'm the brutal savage here when you're the sorcerer in the first place and you're constantly doing and getting yourself into all sorts of shit!"
The stern phrasing and the undeniable truth of it made Lukas lower his gaze and bow his head, scowl fading into a pained grimace. Well, that's it, I'm not a good person. I've never been. I keep telling myself that I have an excuse for everything I do, but I don't, really. I must have bad blood after all. And now he wanted to cry.
Mathias chewed on his bottom lip, still processing the surprise of having actually managed to take the king of trolls on a guilt trip. Because the other looked like it right now, his mask had cracked even more than the previous times Mathias had seen him frightened. It was the sad, vulnerable image of someone who just wasn't very good at handling things in general, he thought, weighing the empty phial in the palm of his hand. Fairy dust – what one took when they wanted to forget everything and grow numb, completely insensitive. What a mess…
"Take your clothes off."
"WHAT?! No, I said-"
But Lukas's protest was cut short when the Grim leaned forward brusquely, gripped his chin and pressed his mouth against his. It was awkward, clumsy and rough, clearly something the Dane wasn't awfully comfortable with, but the spell rendered him unable to do anything else but kiss back hungrily, desperately, hands reaching to find purchase in the front of the other's dress shirt and try to pull him closer. And it felt so good, damn, but Kohler pulled away after just a moment, scowling.
"See?! You want this, spell or no spell!"
"But you don't!"
"Well I don't want this fucking job at all, if you must know! I never wanted it!"
Suddenly, the pale blond remember the gruesome scene when the witch had carved out Kohler's still beating heart out of his chest and his stomach cringed further. "I can't, I just-… I heard it's painful! And I don't suppose you'd bottom…"
The expression on the Grim's face confirmed his supposition. "I'll put some temporary runes on your body so that everything goes smoothly and it doesn't hurt. Last thing I need right now is to give myself a pain in the ass too, on top of everything else!"
"Wha-… you mean with the knife?!"
Kohler rolled his eyes. "I never used the knife! Just my nails. Let's just get this over with before Jones comes back, okay? I could do without him knowing about this."
Lukas took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Do it. Just do it, get it over with, how bad can it be? Every movement took an incredible effort now, just the talk had exhausted him. Eventually, he moved away and slipped under the duvet with a huff, then proceeded to pull off his t-shirt, sweatpants and underwear, all the while remaining perfectly hidden from view.
"Just get under the covers, I don't want to be stared at," he grumbled, throwing an arm over his eyes. And if he had to endure this mortifying experience, it was better not to see anything either.
There was a rustle of fabric and a body shifting closer, then a hand found its way onto his stomach, groping blindly. Still, the fingers moved across his skin ever-so-gently, down to his lower belly, where they grazed a clear pattern of sorts. Once completed, the rune 'burned' there for a split second, enough to make him flinch and tense further, despite the growing excitement of the teasing touch. Then the fingers moved lower, following the line of his hip, eventually reaching his inner thigh. The burn came again, but it only added to the growing heat pooling towards his lower body and by the time the Grim finished drawing the runes, he was rock hard.
"Relax," the Dane told him with a sigh, shifting on top of him and settling between his legs. Soft, bare skin brushed and pressed against the insides of his thighs, and Lukas bit back a moan.
Then a finger prodded him, pushing in, exploring his insides and stretching, then another. It didn't hurt, but it was weird as hell. What the fuck. Enduring the procedure and not attempting to wiggle out of it took a substantial restraining effort, but the sorcerer only bit his lip harder and remained quiet. 'Okay… Thor's cock…' he heard the other muttering under his breath as the fingers finally withdrew and a tensed pause followed.
"Relax," Kohler repeated, even softer, and ran his hand reassuringly down the smaller blond's torso and stomach, before lifting his knees and guiding one of his legs over his own hip.
Lukas didn't even know when his arm had moved away from his face, when his fingers had gripped the sheets or when he'd thrown his head back into the pillow, his back arching off the mattress and hips lifting to meet the other's body. He could only try to breathe through the feeling of his body being currently invaded by something which was just too much.
"Huh," the Grim observed, sounding rather intrigued. "Are you alright?"
"…y-yes. Just-…" There was something else too, lingering on the thin line between weird and pleasurable.
The Dane moved, very slow and cautious at first, pulling out and then thrusting back in, groaning softly and with the motion that feeling returned – definitely good now – and Lukas gasped loudly, rolling his hips upwards. After that, the rhythm picked up and his grunts and moans spilled freely as pleasure shot up his spine and began to build in his lower belly.
Still, it wasn't quite enough, he needed more and with a sense of urgency. "C-Could you… touch me?" the sorcerer whispered between pants. He already knew what the Grim's hand was capable of and could only hope to be indulged. And Kohler did, his large, warm hand slipping between their bodies and wrapping around his painfully hard shaft.
"Fuck yes! F-Fuck-… Haa-ahhh, God!"
"It's 'Mathias', but thank you."
Okay, so this hadn't been half bad, the Grim concluded, staring at the dark ceiling above and chewing absently on his thumb. He'd kicked the duvet off and now the sweat was rapidly cooling on his bare body, but it was a pleasant feeling, now that the spell had been broken and that awful sensation in his stomach was finally gone. Wrong, but not bad at all. Granted, his contractor was not a girl, but his body was soft, lean and delicate, that lovely blond hair falling in his face and his flushed cheeks sure were cute and… he was damn tight. Not to mention the shameless way he'd moaned Mathias's name right at the end, all dignity out the window. That would have sent any man over the edge.
And it was also strange, because Bondevik was clearly quite awkward and inexperienced in bed, with all of his charming gift. Oh fuck, I really hope this wasn't his first time or something… Biting his bottom lip, the Grim shifted on his side and discovered Lukas – who had remained tucked under the covers - studying his nudity in a rather obvious manner.
"I thought we weren't going to stare," Mathias pointed, propping himself up on one elbow and cocking his eyebrow questioningly. Still, he made no move to cover any of his naked glory.
The sorcerer rolled his eyes. "You're shameless," he stated dryly.
"Me? Pffff…" Mathias sighed, shaking his head. "Anyway, this didn't happen, okay?" It shouldn't have happened, damn it. "Not a word about this to anyone, I'm serious."
"Ugh, as if I'd tell anyone…" the pale blond grumbled, pulling the covers up to his nose in indignation and looking away. "What's the deal with Jones, anyway?"
"Jones has kind of a bad reputation among us, he's fucked up a couple of contracts in the past… and from what I've heard all of his contractors too. I don't want him to hear of this and get to think we're on the same level or something now."
Oh fuck, more 'good' news. Lukas had a vague suspicion of what 'fucking up a contract' could have meant, but right now he didn't even feel like asking. Besides, now the Grim probably needed to feed, as payment for this one 'little favor'. Taking a deep breath, he turned again towards the naked man, who seemed expectant.
"Would you like to… drink my blood now?"
Kohler grinned, shifting closer. "Yes, but first, can I fuck you again?"
The Norwegian's eyes widened and his mouth opened silently for a second. "Yes." No! I meant 'no', fuck me!
"'Yes, daddy'," Mathias corrected him amused, pressing the tip of the other's nose with his finger.
To be continued