Tom eyed him for a moment and then he said,

"I'm curious… Why are you so loyal to Greyback?"

Harry spoke flatly,

"It's my job."

Tom stared at him, expressionless, and as the seconds ticked by, the silence grew more pronounced. At last he finally said,

"You must believe me to be extremely stupid."

He feigned amusement,

"What are you talking about?"

Tom chuckled darkly,

"You're a mercenary… Cold blooded and far more cruel than anyone I've ever encountered. You wouldn't simply be loyal to Greyback merely because it's your job…"

He raised an eyebrow and asked sardonically,

"Your point being?"

Tom scowled at him,

"You genuinely care about Greyback… I saw it in your eyes that night… I just want to know what caused that?"

Harry smiled sardonically as he mimicked Tom's earlier reply,

"You must believe me to extremely stupid."

A hint of puzzlement clouded Tom's eyes and Harry let out an internal shout of victory,

"Meaning?"

Harry straightened out his legs in front of him as he leaned back into the couch,

"I don't care about Greyback's life… I care about his wealth and the power that comes along with it."

Tom's scowl grew even more pronounced as he spoke,

"Either you're lying to me now or you were lying to me that night…"

Harry shrugged nonchalantly,

"Think whatever you want…"

Tom shook his head and when he spoke next, his voice was matter-of-fact, as though he was reading a grocery list,

"Then you wouldn't really have a problem if I kill him?"

Harry laughed at that,

"Actually, I would… I can't allow you to put me out of my job. If Greyback dies, I'll lose everything."

Tom stepped closer to him,

"I am willing to offer you double…no, scratch that… triple of what he's giving you to be on my side."

It was his turn to scowl,

"So, you want to buy me?"

Tom smirked,

"It is a generous offer given the circumstances. If you recall correctly, I can simply take you…the way I took you that night in the corridor… The way you offered me your ownership oh so willingly and the way I claimed it…."

Harry snapped,

"I offered you nothing…"

Tom's grin grew wider,

"I recall differently…'I want to be yours'…. Isn't that what you said?"

Harry gnashed his teeth as he shook his head,

"That's what you made me say…"

Tom shook his hand,

"I didn't make you say anything… You consented…"

Harry was about to argue when Tom cut him off,

"I'm not here to discuss that night… Let's just say, I wouldn't recommend you turn up for work on Monday. I'm guessing you don't want to be around when he gets killed."

Tom met his gaze, his own serious before he continued,

"And if you go back there then you will watch him die…That is inevitable… This is the only warning you're going to get. Right now, you're the only real obstacle standing between me and him… and I want him dead."

He spoke,

"That's why you came here? To warn me off?"

His tone was calm, but inside he was anxious as he contemplated what this meant.

"That's about the size of it,"

Tom agreed, but he didn't move. Which had to mean that warning him off wasn't the whole size of it...There was more…

"Let me see if I understand you… You believe that with me out of the way, you're going to kill Fenrir?"

Tom's eyes twinkled,

"With you out of the way, I can kill him just fine. Those other guys of his are just goons. Easily dealt with."

Harry gritted his teeth,

"You can't just kill him…"

Tom's gaze narrowed and his gaze was caustic as he spoke,

"Will you stop me?"

Harry squared his jaw,

"I will."

Tom tilted his head to the side and spoke,

"There it is again… That fierce protectiveness you radiate for him… Your words say something else but your eyes and your actions…They speak the truth… You do care about him…"

He shook his head,

"I don't…"

Tom leaned over him and rested his hands on the back of the couch on either side of his head,

"Then join me… I have so much to offer you…far more than Greyback has ever given you…"

Harry was already weighing the pros and cons of that inside his head, but Fenrir's death was out of the question and he had to avoid that any cost. Tom hovered closer to him,

"You want power…I want power… We're the same like that…"

We're the same…

Slowly, Tom moved his hands from the back of the couch and stroked his hair, his fingers infinitely gentle. His other hand cupped his cheek as he stroked his thumb over his cheekbone. He knew what Tom was trying to do and unlike last time, he was ready for it and he was willing to use it to his advantage.

He kissed Tom's palm and that was enough to shatter Tom's control. Tom's arms went around him, their mouths coming together in a kiss of pure feverish desire. He held nothing back, and neither did Tom. He was fully aware that Tom was panting his name between kisses and he wondered what his real name would sound like rolling off Tom's tongue.

They slid to the floor, kissing frantically and pushing each other's clothes aside. In the last encounter they'd had, Tom had taken control of him and he was going to be damned if he allowed that. This was all about keeping his senses and desires in check. Today, he was in control.

He shoved Tom's jeans and boxers down over his hips as they lay on their sides, facing one another, their mouths still locked together. His fingers were buried in Tom's soft, thick hair, and Tom was panting like he couldn't breathe enough of him in. When he took a hold of both of their shafts in one big hand and began stroking them together, a whimper left Tom's throat and he counted that as a win.

There was no denying that the pleasure wasn't intense. The smooth stroke of Tom's stiff, velvet-skinned cock against his own, the occasional bump of his cockhead when he pulled back too far and lost the perfection of his grip, only to regain it an instant later. Tom's mouth was devouring him. His need and his pleasure so very apparent from the way he was kissing him.

They climaxed together, their mingled cum pulsing warmly, wetly over their bellies.

And then, together… wildly, improbably… they began to laugh, huffing astonished mirth into each other's mouths, only to resume the hungry press of their lips a moment later.

Gradually, they calm down, easing back to look at one another's faces again. He didn't want to speak,and it seemed neither did Tom because words could only spoil this.

He knew he hadn't really completely convinced Tom to let Fenrir live but he was positive that he'd successfully managed to take his mind off it for the time being and that was a victory in his books.