“Touch yourself,” Binder ordered in German and then in English.
For a few seconds, Reese pulled away from his licking and sucking. “No. You"ll do it. Soon.”
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Karl groaned. He wanted this moment to go on for hours, for years. He tried to concentrate on anything other than the man who touched him, the man on his knees. Karl ran his fingers through the stranger"s hair, tugging at him to pull him off because he was going to spend too soon, and he wanted to savor the pleasure and stave off the driving need.
But his arousal proved too much. He recalled that he"d be allowed to return the favor, and just the thought of tasting Jonathan, kissing him again, nearly put him over the edge. He"d strip his onetime enemy naked and find all his weaknesses and watch him writhe with pleasure and… Release hit him, starting at the back of his knees and soaring up through his balls, which felt so heavy and tight. He shouted as the boiling need rose, and he exploded. He let go of his grip on Jonathan"s hair so the man could back away, but no, Jonathan"s eager mouth stayed on him as he shuddered and his legs went weak.
For an instant Karl stood with his eyes closed, swaying.
Thought returned, but no self-recrimination, though he wished he could understand why he"d done this—why he so entirely craved a man he didn"t trust, a man who"d followed him, stolen his pistol, and attacked him. His arm still ached from being twisted halfway up his back, yet that rough treatment had only added to his intense arousal.
When he was in his early twenties, Karl had enjoyed numerous anonymous fast encounters with strangers, but now he would only bed someone he genuinely liked. He"d easily given up that pull to danger, until he"d encountered this most dangerous man, whose real name he didn"t even know.
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Jonathan, or whoever he was, rose to his feet. He seized Karl around the waist, pulled him close, and clumsily buried his face against his neck, rubbing against the stiff collar and tie, seeking out skin before simply pressing his mouth and body against him.
Oh. This was why he lingered with his enemy. Karl had never witnessed such need, and it called to something deep in him—his own need. He wanted this man beyond the excitement of risk and the pleasure of a good spending.
“Thank you,” Karl whispered. He rested his hand on Jonathan"s shoulder and caressed firm muscles through the waistcoat and shirt. Despite his climax, he still craved the other man"s touch and wished they"d made it up to his room, where they could"ve done this thing properly.
It was his turn to go to his knees. But no, he"d just admitted to himself he wanted more. He wanted to be able to touch more than cock. He had the hunger for skin.
“Lie down,” he commanded. Jonathan narrowed his eyes but slowly sank to the dusty floor and stretched out on his back between stacked chairs and broken-legged tables. He crossed his arms over his chest, and in his closed face Karl could see the caution, the promise of retribution for any attempts at trickery.
Karl wondered if the poor man had any notion of intimacy. He"d experienced mutual gratification, perhaps, but not affection. Even his kiss was inexperienced.
And he might have pleasured a man with his mouth, but not often, Karl thought.
“Jonathan,” he crooned and sat on the floor next to him. He ran his hands over his belly and chest, unbuttoning more clothing than he needed to simply reach the man"s cock. He reached for Jonathan"s wrists and, ignoring his growl, pulled Jonathan"s arms down to his sides.
Karl eyed the exposed skin from neckcloth to groin. He loved the way the other man lay open and exposed to him. He leaned and kissed a path over the hard chest, expecting Jonathan to respond with caresses, but the man lay as he"d placed him, 30
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although every muscle in his body was tightly coiled, as if he expected Karl to rip open his stomach rather than suck his cock.
Karl laid his cheek on the other"s belly, duplicating Jonathan"s earlier moment of tenderness. Jonathan"s stomach twitched, and he pushed on Karl"s head, urging him lower.
Karl lapped and nipped the skin near Jonathan"s navel, nuzzling through the silky hair, such a contrast to well-toned muscles. Karl slid his hands up the sleek torso and stroked his thumbs over Jonathan"s nipples. He tweaked one of the hard nubs.
Jonathan shivered and moaned. So much desire pent up in one man"s body.
Karl"s cock hardened again in sympathy. He took pity on Jonathan and wrapped his hand around his cock.
“I think another time I"ll have you naked and ready for more love play than this,” he promised.
“Love play?” Jonathan"s voice was ragged. He"d probably intended to express scorn at the romantic term, but the gasp he gave at the end of the word turned it into a question.
“Hard and hot in a storage closet is good, but I"ll see you completely nude in a soft, comfortable bed yet.” Abruptly Karl moved down and engulfed the man"s cock with his hands and mouth, devouring him like a second breakfast.
Jonathan groaned louder.
“You like this?” Karl pulled off long enough to ask. He caressed the delicate ball sac and watched Jonathan"s face transported by pleasure. His enemy"s guarded expression slipped, and Karl was privileged to witness the transformation from cold reserve to blossoming passion. Years seemed to shed from the man as Jonathan"s eyelashes fluttered and his mouth opened.
“How about this?” Karl burrowed beneath the breeches to tease his finger along the sensitive path to Jonathan"s rear entrance. He traced a finger around the The Nobleman and the Spy
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tight opening. The man"s bunghole tensed, and Karl knew he enjoyed the sensation, but he pressed for an answer. “Is this what you want?”
He returned his hand to Jonathan"s penis and stroked the thick column from base to tip. “Or this?”
Christ. Even while Binder was delivering the greatest pleasure of Reese"s life, the man wouldn"t shut up. What was worse, when Reese didn"t answer, Binder stopped and sat up. “Alas, I fear you"re not enjoying this.”
Bastard
. Reese wanted to howl his need. Instead he said in a strangled voice,
“Yes! Yes, goddamn it, I like it.”
“Which in particular?” the smug Karl asked.
“All of it. All.” He cursed.
Karl chuckled and bent his head again.
Reese had never felt such sensation. Karl was clever with his hands, his mouth. Every part of him seemed to rub and touch Reese"s body, arousing him beyond what he"d thought possible. That warm, sucking mouth made Reese gasp and cry out. The craving for more throbbed along with every heartbeat.
He"d been nearly silent during his encounters with the captain, except for some grunting and gasping, but he could no more remain silent now than he could hold back his climax. “No, no, please, yes.” He heard himself gibbering contradictions. “Please, oh God.”
He heard his own voice at a distance as his release seized him. At last, at last, he thought, and as he slowly came back to his senses, he wondered what that meant.
But the moment the glorious elation coursing through him began to dim, Reese grew too aware of his own recklessness. How could he have shouted out loud so any passing person could hear him? Cold reason slapped him across the face like a gentleman with a glove demanding a duel. The secret passion of his nature was 32
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eclipsed once more and slunk away to hide in the dark recesses of his heart. Horror at his weakness in laying his body and soul open to this stranger—this enemy—flooded Reese. His heart no longer pounded with pleasure but with the need to run.
He had to get out of here. Now. As soon as possible, he must escape.
He squirmed out from under Karl"s head, which rested on his thigh, and sat up. Karl moved back, allowing him to rise. Reese hurriedly tucked himself away, buttoning and rearranging his clothing.
Karl looked up at him quizzically with a raised brow. “You"re in a rush. Do you have an appointment to keep?”
Reese thrust fingers through his hair. Did the man expect him to moon about, half dressed, in a storeroom? “I must leave. I beg your pardon.” He sounded entirely priggish to his own ears.
Karl stretched, yawned, and stood. He buttoned his shirt, moving at a leisurely pace. “I told you I"m difficult to insult except, of course, when it serves my purposes to be insulted. You"ll learn that about me.”
Reese ignored Karl"s attempt to draw him into yet more conversation. The door filled his sight. He needed to get through it right now, if he had to knock the other man out of his way to do so. He couldn"t breathe. The closet was closing in on him.
His pulse was racing, and he felt dizzy. He pushed past Karl, grasped the door handle, and burst out into the corridor, heedless of anyone who might be passing.
Luckily the hall was empty. Reese practically ran from the storage room and the man he was supposed to be following.
Assignment be damned, he would stay as far away from Karl von Binder as he could while still keeping an eye on him. No more face-to-face meetings. No more meetings of any kind, or he would lose his sanity.
There was a note waiting for him at the front desk.
Provide minimal
protection
. He knew that meant he was to alert Toole at once if he felt Binder might be in danger. Some peril probably threatened the erbgraf, or the department wouldn"t have bothered with the note, but the trouble wouldn"t come from any of The Nobleman and the Spy
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Reese"s people. Evidently the secretive little group hidden in the War Department of the British government wasn"t going after Binder, or they wouldn"t have given the new instruction.
Feeling curiously relieved by the news, Reese collected his hat and coat from his room and left the hotel. Although it was almost noon now, the day was bleak and overcast. The tall buildings were shrouded in a misty pall of gray, and the air was so damp, one could practically drown in it. Perfect. The weather exactly matched his mood. The ecstatic peak of only a few minutes earlier had completely evaporated, leaving Reese in a morass of confusion.
He strode along the pavement, past pedestrians shielded by a host of black umbrellas that hid their faces. Reese was a forgettable face in a city full of anonymous strangers, as he was meant to be. His breathing eased as he drew fresh air into his lungs and melted back into his surroundings, once more a nonentity.
This was where he belonged. This was his peace.
He didn"t walk far. After all, he still had a task to perform: watch von Binder and those who surrounded him, and keep the man from serious harm. Rain dripped from the brim of Reese"s hat and rolled down his long black coat. Although his coverings were fairly waterproof, he felt the moisture infiltrating his clothing and even the very pores of his skin, until he was chilled and damp all over.
After finding shelter beneath the awning of a tobacconist"s shop, where he pretended to look at the window display of carved pipes, Reese turned to examine the front of Claridge"s. The red brick facade and ornate wrought-iron decor at the windows only hinted at the sumptuous world of wealth. Reese hadn"t come from either money or privilege. His father had been a merchant, and even now, after years of exposure to how the elite lived, Reese"s middle-class soul was sometimes dismayed by the elaborate inclinations of the rich and titled. Their meticulous attention to their clothing and coiffures, to their possessions and position in society, were anathema to his spartan nature.
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Men like Karl von Binder confounded him. How could someone live for pleasure and indulge his every whim—such as they"d done just now in the storage room—without expecting repercussions? The world was not a playground, but more a battlefield in which one struggled to survive. Either one of them could"ve killed the other while he was at his most vulnerable. Reese still had the weight of Karl"s pistol in his pocket to prove it. If he had been sent to assassinate rather than observe, the count"s son would be dead right now.
But Reese could hardly cast stones. Today he"d been just as foolish as the carefree erbgraf, weakened by need. It terrified him to admit how very much he"d wanted what Binder offered, not only quick sexual relief. He hadn"t known sexual encounters could be like that, and now that he knew, he wished he could forget what Karl had called love play. Love was not a commodity Reese could expect. He"d been content and never longed for more, except perhaps in those moments just before sleep.
His reverie and examination of the pipes in the store window were interrupted as Reese"s assignment exited the double doors of the hotel. Erbgraf Karl von Binder descended the marble steps, which glistened from the rain. He was accompanied by several other dark-coated men—his bodyguards and servants. Although all the men wore an assortment of black top hats and bowlers, Karl von Binder"s pale hair beneath his derby fairly glowed like a beacon. And Reese knew now that hair was soft to the touch.
Reese started to walk parallel to his quarry on the opposite side of the street.
He wondered why in the world the erbgraf was walking anywhere on such a day rather than summoning a vehicle to transport him. Carriages and dray wagons, cabs and even a few intrepid individual riders with their caps pulled low to protect them from the rain, jockeyed for space on the slick paved street. Reese"s view of Karl and his retinue—three men, all bearing umbrellas and walking close to their master—was interrupted by one vehicle or another. He had just decided to take a The Nobleman and the Spy