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He had kissed a lot of people over the years, but Jack could honestly say he’d never experienced anything quite like kissing Chris. Nothing would have prepared him for walking into Chris’s room to find a flesh-and-blood version of the spectral hottie who had been starring in many of his vivid fantasies of late. Chris was gorgeous even when he was a little transparent, but in his full glory, he was the most beautiful man Jack had ever seen.

The jar now sat on his bedside table. Chris had been distraught as he had begun to discorporate after their kiss, but Jack had meant what he said, that he thought this was nowhere near the end of Chris’s transformation. He would need to do some research and was sure he’d come across some parallels in the cases where individuals had been trapped between realms. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he would move the moon to have another of those kisses.

He placed his ear to the jar, he could hear snoring, soft but deep and he felt a protective surge towards Chris.

A knock on the door was followed by Ashley. “Hey, I wanted to do a check-up. Your remote monitors show you’re pretty perky, but I’d like to see for myself.”

“You’re not my doctor, you know?” Jack said, but he wouldn’t argue.

Ashley spotted Chris’s jar. “Since when has that been in here?”

“Oh, just today. He wanted to be close by and I didn’t see any harm in it.” Jack decided not to tell Ashley about kissing Chris in the flesh. He might be his best friend, but he didn’t need a lecture, and until he knew more, he didn’t want Ashley to rain on his parade, even if he thought he was trying to protect Jack from himself.

Ashley waggled his eyebrows. “You two are getting… close.”

“You know he’s doing me an enormous favour.”

“About that, have you figured out how he’s doing it?”

“Not exactly,” Jack said. “But my magic is getting stronger, and I’ve been able to sense Chris has a magic core of his own and that might be acting as a sort of energy balancer between us.”

“He has magic beyond the sex-seeking echo thing he does?”

“Appears so.”

Ashley huffed and Jack braced himself for the lecture. “This is the type of thing you’re meant to tell me—you’ve got an unidentified spectral entity in close proximity, you need to be careful.”

“Ashley, don’t be a prick,” he said, far calmer than he felt. “We don’t know more than what I’ve told you.”

“He could be dangerous.”

“Well, I am dangerous. Some of the things I’ve done in the past would exclude me from most people’s Midwinter card list.”

Ashley huffed. “Be serious.”

“I am. Now you said something about a check-up.” He was feeling well, he’d even say spritely, if sprites weren’t annoying little fuckers.

“I want to run a couple of diagnostic spells. You seem perky. But I know how well you can mask.”

It was true. He had a high pain threshold and had survived more than one near-death experience. “Get on with it, I know you won’t leave it alone until you do.”

Ashley’s magic was familiar and comforting as it washed over him. He didn’t fight it, and Ashley withdrew. “You’re doing well. Do you feel better in yourself?”

“Yeah, really good actually. I’m not about to run a marathon but good.”

“We’ve guests for dinner who I think you’d get a kick out of meeting. Do you think you’d be up for it?”

Jack struggled to remember the last time he’d sat down for dinner at an actual dining table, and Crofton Hall put on a lovely spread. “I’d love to. If it gets too much I could make my apologies and retreat.”

“How about I give you an hour to get ready and I’ll come and collect you.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I can get downstairs.”

“Yeah, not seen any evidence of that. Just humour me, okay?”

He would because Ashley would find a way to stop him if he didn’t. “All right, deal.”

Ashley was delighted. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I was so worried.”

“Me and you both.”

* * *

The act of getting dressed in something half decent had never been so exciting but he was looking forward to dinner downstairs—it was something of a milestone. Jack was hardly wearing his finest but compared to the pyjamas and sweats he’d been living in for the last few weeks, he felt as if he was getting ready for a black-tie event. A collared shirt and trousers had never been so revolutionary, and he was glad the few outcrops of scales he still had wouldn’t be visible. For a moment he thought he should wake Chris, but there was still snoring coming from his jar, and he needed his sleep. Jack would be back sooner than later, no doubt before Chris woke up, as he wasn’t up for an all-nighter.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Ashley asked as Jack took his arm. “I’m not trying to put you off, just making sure.”

“I’m a little unsteady but I promise I’m all right and can’t wait to have a proper meal at a table with company and no one removing my tray or monitoring my digestion.”

“Good to hear, but don’t be a martyr, if it gets too much, tell me. I don’t want to risk using a portal unless it’s necessary, so we’ll take a gentle stroll.”

“Yes, Mum.”

“Twat.” Ashley’s tone was affectionate, and Jack knew it was only because he cared.

They arrived at the dining room, Ben was already there and in discussion with a man and a woman Jack didn’t recognise. “Ah, Jack,” Ben said standing, “so glad you could join us. It’s great to see you up and about. This is Professor Nadia McKillen, and her husband Maurice. And this is Jack Webb.”

The McKillens were both pale with dark hair and eyes, and when they shook hands, their cold hands confirmed Jack’s suspicion they were vampires even before he spotted the glasses of blood.

“Our pleasure to meet you, Mr Webb,” Nadia said, sitting.

“Call me Jack. I prefer to reserve Mr Webb for legal matters.”

She chuckled. “Of course. I must say, I was delighted when Ben said you’d be joining us for dinner. You have quite a reputation with my institute.”

He wouldn’t say he had a fanbase, but he did have the occasional person offer praise for some of his efforts and he was happy to bask in a bit of pride now and again. But he wondered where she had heard of him. “Which institute would that be?”

“The Prague Monague.”

That explained how they knew him, he was an alumnus, known as one of their best, if he listened to his former tutors. “I’m honoured that I’m still remembered.”

“You are more than remembered, and your generosity in supporting several scholarships continues to be much appreciated. I do hope you would be willing to come and lecture to some of the students on your cases—you’ve helped rewrite the law in several situations. We would be delighted beyond measure if you were to honour us in such a fashion. I’m sure we could even offer a stipend.”

Ashley leaned forward. “I reckon the WRC would be open to sponsoring a residency for a term or two if Jack was interested.”

He wasn’t one for such accolades but being invited to be a guest lecturer wasn’t something to dismiss out of hand. “Maybe once I am recovered, we could have a conversation.”

Chris materialised at his side, Jack hadn’t expected him to join them for dinner. What was more surprising was his expression, he appeared furious. “Are you leaving?” Chris demanded.

“Chris, I wasn’t aware you’d been invited to join us this evening?” Ben said, his tone clipped.

“I wasn’t planning to, but I woke up and Jack was gone, and I wanted to find him.” Chris seemed oblivious to Ben’s annoyance. “And good job I did because I got to hear the conversation about his leaving.”

They’d been growing closer, the kiss cementing something between them that had been developing for a while, but the reality was Crofton Hall wasn’t his home, they’d need to have a conversation at some point about what would happen once he was fully recovered. “I don’t live here, Chris. You know I’m staying at the hall while I heal. That’s because I’ve no family to stay with and Ashley was kind enough to speak to Ben, so I didn’t need to be sent to a medical facility.”

Nadia appeared bemused and peered at Chris. “Are you a ghost?”

Ben cleared his throat. “Chris is one of the residents here. Not exactly a ghost.”

“How interesting. I don’t believe I’ve met anyone like you before,” she said.

Jack thought the comment odd because, to the casual observer, Chris wasn’t that different to a ghost, at least at the moment. There was nothing that obvious apart from him being a little more solid, although nowhere near as much as he was earlier in the day. He saw Ashley also examining Chris closer, and he recognised his expression. Ashley was going to want to Talk to Him. God, he hated it when Ashley geared up to one of his righteous indignation rants. Add in the jar on his nightstand and Ashley was going to be belligerently nosey.

Chris scowled, his cheekbones somehow sharper than Jack remembered, even from this afternoon, and he’d been very observant. “I don’t believe I’ve ever met someone as rude, and I’ve been conscious for twice the age of this house.”

“Chris, we are having dinner,” Ben said. “If you wish to join then we can have a place set, but you won’t actually be imbibing anything.”

“I have no intention of staying. But I want to know about Jack going to Prague.”

Chris was upset, and after that kiss, he could understand why, as whatever was going on between them was beginning to feel very real. Jack had no intention of leaving Chris, but he couldn’t say anything in front of other people for now.

“Chris, it was an offer to do a guest lecture slot, nothing more and nothing concrete. You know this is the first time in months I’ve been strong enough to eat with guests. I’m a long way off from leaving Crofton Hall.”

“You’re getting better because of me, and once you’re better, you’re going to leave.” Chris looked pained, and his eyes glowed. “I don’t want that.”

“I have my own life away from Crofton Hall, Chris. I work and travel extensively, I was always planning on going back to my life once I was better.”

“What about me?” Chris demanded.

Ben cleared his throat. “I don’t think this is the time or the place for this discussion. Remember your jar is movable.”

Jack hadn’t thought much about life after he’d recovered—at one point he wasn’t sure it was going to happen. “Chris, we can talk about this. Once I’m better, you can visit me at my home—we’ll take your jar out for a spin. It’ll be a while before I’m well enough to permanently leave the hall.”

Chris didn’t seem much happier at the idea. “And what? Find me a suitable shelf to sit on while you are away travelling and doing whatever it is you do with whomever you do it with in Prague?”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say,” Jack admitted. They could talk about this properly later, but for now, he didn’t have any way to promise Chris a different solution. Not until they figured out if he had the chance to become corporeal on a permanent basis.

“I want you not to leave me.” His eyes glowed an electric blue, and for a moment he was fully corporeal, like he’d been that afternoon, then he reverted to normal, letting out a long wail as he darted from the table, disappearing through the floorboards.

Jack felt glued to the chair, unable to process what had happened. “I should go and find him.”

“No,” Ben said. “I’ll have Alex and Karl deal with him. His behaviour was not appropriate and should not be tolerated.”

Ben might be the Dark Earl, and Jack was grateful for all he had done, but he didn’t get to tell Jack what to do. He pushed away from the table. “I can’t leave him like this.”

Ashley was on his feet. “You’re not fit enough to roam the hall looking for Chris.”

Chris would have retreated to his jar, his one place of safety that was solely his. “I know where he’ll be.”

“I think you should let him calm down first,” Ben said. He looked annoyed and Jack wasn’t sure if that was because of how Chris had reacted or because Jack wasn’t going to obey his instructions not to go after Chris.

“He’ll get more upset, and I don’t want that as there’s no reason for him to be. Who knows what he’ll do.”

Ashley stood. “Let me escort you to where you think he is.”

He knew this was his best option as he didn’t want to risk collapsing somewhere, as he only had limited energy reserves. “All right. I’d bet my elemental magic collection he’s in his jar.”

Ashley held out his arm and Jack accepted. He thought about suggesting a portal but knew Ashley would be reluctant and the moment they left the dining hall the questioning began.

“What’s going on? I get that he’s helping you, but the outburst came across as co-dependency 101, and don’t think I didn’t notice him turning solid.”

“You’ve probably guessed I’ve become quite fond of him.” He wasn’t about to drop the L-word to anyone else yet, but he couldn’t lie to himself that he hadn’t felt this connected to someone since dating Ashley. “It’s difficult to quantify. But it’s not just because he’s helping me. There’s something about him that draws me to him. And him to me.”

“He’s been alone for a long time, Jack. You’re probably one of the first people to treat him as more than a curiosity in a jar. He’s going to fixate on you and you’re such a nice bloke that it’d be hard for him not to fall for you.”

He chose not to take that as Chris being so desperate anyone showing a sign of affection could be considered worthy because, for all of Ashley’s ham-fisted wording, he knew what he meant. “I get that, but we’ve got a connection and we’ve become more than friends.”

“How do you become more than friends with someone you can’t touch?” Ashley asked, which was fair enough given the situation.

“Chris needs to eat, and so I let him feed from me, and despite him not being corporeal all the time, he’s a gorgeous bloke so him watching me as I get down to it is a huge turn-on.”

Ashley stopped walking. “What do you mean not being corporeal all the time? I saw a flash of it at dinner but are you saying that’s happened before?”

For once he wished Ashley had fixated on his wanking. “Chris is changing, his features started becoming more defined, and earlier today he was fully corporeal.” He cleared his throat. “We kissed, and to be honest, if he hadn’t started fading again, I’d have let him do a lot more than kiss me.”

“Jack, you don’t need me to tell you that Chris adapting is something we should be investigating. He’s already a bit of an unknown entity, but this changes things again.”

“I can handle him. And more than that, I want to be the one who does. Trust me on this, Ashley. Don’t interfere.”

“What if he’s dangerous?”

Jack snorted. “Yes, he’s a real danger. He’d like a lost fluffy kitten, he might give me a nasty lick.”

He stamped down on the memory of the ghostly lick that had made him blow his load, as the last thing he needed now was an erection.

Jack tugged on Ashley’s arm to get him moving. He wouldn’t let Ashley ruin this, no matter how good his intentions were. He could tell Ashley was trying to come up with something to say to convince him to change his mind, but Jack had plenty of practice of out-stubborning Ashley.

“Promise me you won’t do anything that might put you in danger,” Ashley said as they reached his room.

“Y’know, I never get that sort of sentiment from the WRC when they send me out on a mission, so I don’t need it when I’m doing something for myself. Thanks all the same.”

“I’m not talking on behalf of the WRC. It’s because I care.”

“Back off.”

He entered his room, shutting Ashley out and hoping he was right that Chris had retreated to his jar. “Chris, can you come out?”

“No,” came the quiet reply.

“Please. I’d rather talk face-to-face about this. I want to give you some reassurance that I don’t intend to leave you.”

The jar rattled and Jack waited for several moments before Chris emerged. His expression was one of pure misery, his eyes holding an echo of pain and Jack wanted to hold him even though his current state meant it wasn’t possible.

“You came here for me?” Chris sounded uncertain.

“If you let me, I would always come for you.” He stepped closer. “The kiss we shared was too perfect to be forgotten easily. If I never saw you again, I would still dream about it for years.”

Chris seemed close to tears and Jack wondered if he would bolt back to his jar. “You were talking about Prague, that is very far away.”

“And I told you it was nothing more than a suggestion and I am nowhere near well enough to accept an offer. I’m getting stronger, but I’m currently not even ready to use a portal let alone stand up and teach.”

“But once you are you will go,” Chris said with a choked sob.

“I hope that I will be well enough that I can return home. As much as I like Crofton Hall it’s not where I normally live, but that does not mean I am leaving you.”

Chris’s brow furrowed. “How can that be? You will leave the hall.”

They hadn’t done much more than mutual wanking and that kiss, but Jack didn’t want to lose the chance at what was growing between them. “For what you’ve told me, you’re not bound to Crofton Hall. Your jar moves, and if we continue things between us, I would like you to visit where I live, and maybe you’d think to make it your home too.”

Once he was well enough, he would arrange the visit, still, even with Chris’s healing, Jack knew it could be a while before he would be ready to leave the hall for good to live without any backup.

Chris ran his fingers down Jack’s cheek, the touch was barely there, but it didn’t matter. “I want that and want to see if there is a way I can be whole. Our kiss was the most wonderful thing I have ever felt, and I want so much more.”

He desired the same, and they should be able to find a reason why Chris was changing. “We should examine what happens when you become solid, see if we can identify a pattern.”

Chris nodded. “I’ve noticed a difference after I’ve had one of my vivid dreams, and they have come during my restorative naps after curling up with you.”

“Maybe our interactions aren’t one-way. I don’t know, but it’s something we can watch for. As it stands, my best hypothesis is my magic is affecting you. Like a counter-lever.”

Chris worried his bottom lip. “It could be, but I can’t help but think it’s only a part of the puzzle. The dreams must be me trying to tell myself something.”

“I told you dreams aren’t necessarily literal, there are many underlying messages and can be open to interpretation.”

Chris wrinkled his nose. “I’m shifting into that man in my dreams when I become corporeal, at least physically. I can’t overlook that, there must be a link.”

He wouldn’t argue. If this was what Chris thought he had no right to dismiss his ideas when he had no more evidence than a gut feeling. “We will work it out together. Whatever happens, I want to keep you in my life.”

“I’m sorry I overreacted; I heard you talk of going to a place far away and the visceral hurt I felt was uncontainable.” Chris stroked his hair, although this time it felt more real. “Can we curl up together?”

“I am a little tired, a few hours with my favourite cutie in a jar could only be beneficial.”

“If we are lucky, I might not need my jar forever. If I were to become solid, I wouldn’t fit.”

Jack laughed and led them over to the bed. A wave of tiredness hit him, a Chris cuddle sounded amazing, and they could worry about everything else when they were both better rested.