Magpie by Kim Dare Page A

Everet’s arms tightened around him.
    Kane frowned. He remembered they were in the bath, but he wasn’t sure why they were in there. He blinked open his eyes and peered at the bright white tiles.
    “Shower sex?” Had they fallen down?
    “Hush. Just relax. I’ll let you know if I want anything from you.”
    Kane nodded. The darkness that crept up on him wasn’t nearly as soothing as the rainbow of clouds that he was used to seeing while on quicksilver, but that didn’t matter. There was no way he could stop the blackness rising around him and covering his head.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Everet had never been so relieved to hear someone knock on his door in his life. “Come in!”
    “Everet? Are you okay? You said you’d be at the meeting…”
    Ambrose—thank God! “We’re in the bathroom,” Everet yelled.
    “Damn, sorry, Ev, I didn’t realize you and Kane were, um… I’ll meet you down—”
    “No! Get in here.” If Everet had been able to leap out of the tub, run out of the room and grab the other man, he would have. But, hell, if he could have done all that, he wouldn’t have needed his friend’s help.
    Ambrose cautiously peeked around the door, confusion filling his expression. When he saw Everet in the tub fully dressed and supporting the unconscious magpie, he finally overcame his reservations. “What happened?”
    “Do you know what effect it has on someone if he comes off quicksilver cold turkey?”
    Ambrose shook his head. “I’ll try and find someone who does.” He took a step back.
    “No. Help me out of here first.” It took all of Everet’s strength of will to keep his teeth from chattering as he gave the order.
    Ambrose approached the side of the bath, only to hesitate.
    “Just support him for a minute,” Everet commanded.
    Ambrose was so wary, it would have been easy to think this was the first time he’d ever touched a naked man, but he finally did what he was told. With all the gentleness of a guy who knew he was too big and too strong to risk being careless, Ambrose slid his arm behind Kane’s back, letting Everet clamber to his feet in the cramped confines of the tub.
    Everet’s knees sent symmetrical spikes of pain shooting up his legs. He made a mental note never to ask any submissive to kneel in a bathtub for more than two minutes. The bottom of the tub was bloody hard. All future showertime blowjobs he received would feature high quality kneepads.
    Gingerly stretching out his limbs, Everet clumsily hauled himself onto the floor beside the bath. His clothes were sodden. Shivers racked his body.
    “Does he still feel hot to you?” Everet demanded, grabbing a towel from the rail and rubbing it against his hair and face.
    Ambrose placed the back of his fingers against Kane’s forehead. “He’s got one hell of a fever. How long have you had him under the cold water?”
    Everet pulled off his T-shirt and dropped the sodden fabric in the sink. “How late am I for the meeting?”
    “Bloody hell,” Ambrose muttered. His forehead furrowed with unease as he peered down at Kane. “The meeting’s already finished.”
    Everet scrambled out of his jeans as quickly as his freezing legs would allow. Everything he took off followed his shirt into the sink. Rubbing roughly at his skin with a towel gradually coaxed a little bit of warm blood to reach his extremities.
    “Can you keep an eye on him while I grab some dry clothes?”
    Ambrose nodded, just as Everet knew he would, but the idea of letting Kane out of his sight still sent a barb of horror through Everet’s mind.
    Kane was his responsibility. The idea of anything happening to him made it impossible for Everet to take a deep breath, let alone walk back into the bedroom and do anything as practical as get dressed.
    Kane was his. The magpie should be at his side, tracking his every step. And, if Kane wasn’t well enough to follow him, then Everet shouldn’t leave him behind.
    “I won’t let anything happen to