Duet in Blood by J. P. Bowie Read Free Book Online Page A

steel.
    DUET IN BLOOD
    J.P. Bowie
    36
     
    “Jeez. I’m sorry.” My hand nervously dropped from the blackout fabric I held. What had happened to the sweet guy from last night? I stared at Joseph’s naked body, now tense as a tightly wound spring. What was the big deal, anyway? “I’m sorry,” I repeated.
    He seemed to relax. “No, no, it is I who must apologise,” he said, his voice again low and husky. “You could not know, after all. I have an aversion to strong sunlight. My eyes…they are defective.”
    Those beautiful eyes?
    I hurried to where Joseph stood and threw my arms around him. “I wish you’d told me.
    I would’ve hated to have caused you pain.” The sensation of his nakedness against mine gave me a deep visceral thrill. What a bummer I had to leave.
    “Don’t leave…” Joseph’s husky whisper in my ear made me shiver with desire.
    “I have to go to work.”
    “I’ll order you a cab.”
    “I have to go home and change first. I really have to go.” I smiled into his eyes, glad to see that their former warmth had returned. I started to pick up the clothes I’d thrown off the night before. “But, maybe we could get together again…”
    “Tonight?” Joseph prompted, turning slightly to pick up a silk robe from the sofa. “For dinner?”
    “You’re not busy?” I asked, staring at the tattoo on his right shoulder blade. I hadn’t noticed it until that moment.
    “Not all of us have to work on Sundays. When can I expect you?”
    “Uh, where’d you want to meet?” I asked, pulling on my jeans.
    “What about right here? I can order room service.”
    “That sounds great. How about seven?”
    “Seven is fine.” Joseph smiled at me. “I will live for the moment when I see you again.”
    I grinned at him. “Me too.” I pulled my tee over my head. “You talk so nicely. I love your accent.”
    “I had a very formal education.”
    “In France?”
    “There and Germany…and some other places.”
    DUET IN BLOOD
    J.P. Bowie
    37
     
    “I didn’t notice your tattoo last night.” I rubbed my hand over his chest. “I guess we were too busy. Can I see it?”
    He slipped the robe from his shoulders so I could inspect the strange design imprinted on his smooth skin.
    “What is it?” I murmured, tracing the scroll-like pattern with my finger.
    “The sign of the Master,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation.
    “Master? What Master?”
    “When I was a young boy, I joined a secret society. All who joined had to have this sign tattooed on their skin. It was foolish of me, but it seemed exciting at the time. The older boys called it the sign of the Master.”
    “Hmm, sounds kinky,” I said, chuckling.
    “It wasn’t, and of course, there was no Master. Just little boys’ fantasies.” He shrugged the robe over his shoulders and took me in his arms. “Last night was very special for me, Micah.”
    “Yeah, it was.” We kissed, and again, I felt an instant erection coming my way. I groaned. “I gotta go, Joseph.”
    “I know…” He walked with me to the door. “ A bientot ,” he whispered, kissing my cheek.
    My French is sketchy at best. “ A bientot —what’s that?”
    “See you soon.”
    “Mmm…” I kissed his lips. “You bet you will.”
     

     
    Joseph
     
    After Micah left, the suite seemed cold and empty. Even more cold and empty was the bed I now had to lie in. The memory of his sweet, warm body pressed to mine filled me with longing. I regretted my earlier outburst, of course, and the fact that I had lied to him. It was not my eyes that had an aversion to sunlight—at least, not just my eyes. But it was too soon for him to know the truth about me. When the time came to tell him, it would be after much DUET IN BLOOD
    J.P. Bowie
    38
     
    more intimacy had passed between us. It would be done gently…not like the soul-searing experience I had endured.
    Willingly, I let myself remember the hours Micah and I had spent together. I already knew he was to be mine,