Page 16 of Six for Gold (The Magpie Rhyme #6)

R omeo ground himself against Chad, growling at the layers between them and needing them gone. He reached for the top of his own jeans first, trying to pick the button open, but pain flared in his palm, and he stopped.

“Let me.” Chad murmured.

Romeo nodded, and Chad fumbled his way through undoing Romeo’s jeans. He ducked his head, concentrating on the task at hand while Romeo pressed kisses at his temple and nipped his ear.

The pressure eased as his jeans slipped down a few inches, and he let go of a blissed sigh. Chad glanced up, asking for permission. Romeo kissed his cheek, granting it, and a second later Romeo’s boxers had joined his jeans high on his thighs and his cock was out, straining and hard.

“ Fuck .” Chad whispered. He looked up again, licking his lips. Romeo caught Chad’s wrist before he could close his hand around Romeo’s cock and begin jerking him. It wouldn’t have taken much, not with Romeo as worked up as he was.

He led Chad’s hand to his own jeans, and he got the hint, unbuttoning and yanking them down along with his boxers.

He was hard and beautiful, and Romeo ignored the warning twinge in his hand as he gripped him. A gentle slide of his fingers down Chad’s cock made it drool and coat him in sticky pre-cum.

“I’m so fucking close already,” Chad murmured.

He watched with blown pupils as Romeo brought his fingers to his mouth, smearing Chad over his bottom lip, he pushed them onto his waiting tongue.

He tasted the same as he always had, the perfect bitter tang that tingled Romeo’s tastebuds and ached his jaw.

Chad whimpered, and Romeo opened his eyes, not realizing he’d shut them. He wanted to take Chad in his right hand and jerk him off until he was coming against him, but a flex of his hand put a wince on his face.

“Can I?” Chad murmured, hovering his hand above their crotches. Their cocks weren’t touching, Romeo had unconsciously shifted his hips away, teasing them both with the distance.

“Not yet.” Romeo glanced over his shoulder, then looked back at Chad. “Take your t-shirt off. I want to see you.”

Chad swallowed, then did as Romeo asked, peeling it up his body and over his head. He folded his arms awkwardly in front of his chest once he’d dropped it until Romeo pushed them away.

“And your jeans. Take them off. I want everything off.”

Chad stripped.

Even his socks ended up on the tiles.

Romeo backed away, still able to shuffle despite his jeans tight around his thighs. He pulled out a kitchen chair, positioned it to face Chad, then sat down.

“Come here.”

Chad approached. His nakedness and his apprehension had taken some of his hardness, but it only made Romeo’s own cock ache.

“Get on my lap.”

Chad straddled him, gripping Romeo’s shoulders.

“Closer.” Romeo murmured, wrapping his arms around Chad’s back and pulling him up his thighs. Their cocks brushed, and their balls came to rest together. Chad’s hips twitched, Romeo rocked forward, then they were grinding.

Their cocks slid, crowns rolling together. Romeo felt the swell of Chad’s cock against his own, knew he was close, and rutted his hips, pressing himself against Chad’s cock.

He leaned his head down and spat on their cocks.

Chad cursed, clawing at Romeo’s shoulders.

“Do that again.”

Romeo dribbled onto their cocks before spitting. Chad tipped his head back, groaning. His eyes were unfocussed as his hips began to work, rocking faster and faster on Romeo’s lap.

The chair legs knocked against the tiles, tipping enough that Romeo had to grip the edge of the table with his left hand.

They were both close, swollen and edging the thin line of orgasm. Romeo slowed the frantic pace of his thrusts, and Chad followed suit, until they were slow grinding while exchanging slow blinks of awe.

Romeo broke eye contact to look down. He bit his lip, groaning at the sight of their cocks ready to blow. Chad’s answering moan sounded wounded. He didn’t look down, he watched Romeo.

“Look at us,” Romeo twitched his eyebrows, encouraging Chad to join him in spying on their cocks.

“Oh, fuck, Romeo.” Chad panted weakly.

Romeo hummed in agreement. It was intense looking down on themselves like that, hips twitching with a need neither of them could deny. Their cocks were shiny and swollen, and slippery with spit and pre-cum. Romeo couldn’t recall seeing them like that before, pressed tightly together, both as hard as possible, shivering with how close they tiptoed the line. Romeo’s cock was longer, and thicker, but not by much. Chad’s crown was a deeper red, and his slit was more open than Romeo’s.

Romeo let go of the table to roll his palm across their crowns. He paused, then rubbed his pinkie against Chad’s slit. Chad’s hips jerked, then he panted frantically as if trying not to come.

“Romeo.” He gasped.

Romeo hummed, and used his thumb, firmer, as he stroked Chad’s slit, over and over until Chad’s hips began twitching, rocking, and, possessed with need, he finished himself by thrusting against Romeo’s cock, moaning Romeo’s name.

Romeo looked past the eruption of cum to Chad’s bare foot on the tiles, stretching as his toes spasmed. Chad reached between them, jerking Romeo off until his eyes rolled back, and a low groan escaped him as he came, hitting Chad’s bare chest and running down his scars.

Chad let go and dropped his head forward onto Romeo’s shoulder. He breathed hard, stopping every so often to swallow.

Romeo drew lazy patterns against Chad’s back.

Chad’s relaxed sigh warmed Romeo heart.

“This,” Chad murmured, snuggling his face into Romeo’s throat. “This is familiar. We’ve done this lots of times.”

And it was true.

“Do you forgive me?” Chad whispered a while later.

“Yes. Now I know there was nothing to forgive.”

“Romeo...”

“No more,” Romeo murmured, pressing his fingers to Chad’s lips. “Let’s warm you up in the shower.”

Chad slipped from Romeo’s lap and gathered his clothes. He led the way to the bathroom and once under the spray, he whispered in Romeo’s ear that he remembered there was something he absolutely loved doing before sinking to his knees.

Romeo tried to resume washing his body, but once Chad’s lips were around him, he could do nothing except grip Chad’s hair and enjoy the sweet torture of his mouth.

****

R omeo dreamed of the magpie.

He’d found it in the corner of the garden, huddled between a stone pagoda and a fern.

One of its wings was neatly tucked at its side like it should have been, but the other touched the ground, unfurled, flashing white feathers when they should’ve been hidden.

Romeo knew it was injured.

Its beady eyes watched Romeo’s every move as he crouched down in the grass.

The bird changed.

In a blink it was Chad, injured, watching him.

He wanted to take Chad into the house, nurse him back to health.

Romeo reached a hand out towards him.

But rather than help Chad to his feet, Romeo wrapped that hand around Chad’s unresisting throat and strangled him where he had fallen.

He killed him.

Romeo woke with his hand around Chad’s throat. He didn’t squeeze. He only had a weak hold, one that hadn’t roused Chad from his sleep.

Romeo slipped his hand down Chad’s neck and stopped on his chest. He pressed to feel the solid steady beat of Chad’s heart.

“Only a dream.” Romeo whispered to himself, but it felt more than that, it felt like a warning.

They may have reconciled, but part of him still burned with anger.

Part of him still wanted to punish Chad, hurt him so he couldn’t be hurt himself.

Romeo eased out a slow breath.

They were in the living room.

After their shower, Chad had meekly asked if Romeo wanted to watch something with him on Netflix and Romeo had agreed, pressing close to Chad on the sofa, and relishing in being able to breath him in again.

Chad, predictably, fell asleep first, and Romeo had lain down behind him, holding Chad to his chest while they’d slept. They were still in the same position except Romeo’s creeping hand that had found its way to Chad’s throat.

There were magpies on the bird feeder. Romeo couldn’t see outside, the living room window was still boarded up, but he could hear them, what he believed to be two.

One clacked, then a few seconds later, the other replied.

Romeo bit his lip, waiting for a terrible squark but it didn’t come.

Chad pressed back into him. “What is it?”

“What is what?”

“You’ve gone all tense.”

Romeo shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

Chad yawned. “This sofa is too comfy.”

“I can’t remember the last time we slept on it.”

“I can.”

“You ... can?”

Chad nodded. “We stayed up all night killing zombies. You were annoyed my score was higher.”

“I wasn’t annoyed.”

Chad smiled, rolling onto his back. Romeo had to grip onto him harder to ensure he didn’t fall off the edge.

“You were definitely annoyed.” Chad smirked.

Romeo shook his head. “You know what I can’t remember...”

“What?”

“The last time you woke up with a smile on your face.” He lifted his head to check. “One that reaches your eyes.”

Chad opened his mouth to retort, but he had no words. He frowned as he pressed his lips together.

“Why have the nightmares stopped?” Romeo whispered.

“I don’t know. You said about the meds—”

“You were having nightmares long before we went away, but now ... you haven’t had any. What’s changed?”

“A lot has changed.”

“No,” Romeo gripped the back of the sofa to haul himself up. “What has changed from the week before you didn’t come home to this one? You’re...” Romeo shot an accusing look at Chad. “More...”

“More what?”

“At ease.” He reached for Chad’s face, cupping his cheek he dragged his thumb beneath his eye. There were no deep, dark circles, not anymore.

Chad’s gaze was bright and focused.

“Romeo?”

“What’s changed?” Romeo repeated. “Something must have. You haven’t ... you haven’t been to the station... Was it the job? Was it always thinking you were never going to be good enough? Did letting go of that responsibility finally let you sleep?”

“I don’t know, but I’m kind of happy I’m not having nightmares anymore.”

“Can you remember when you did?”

“No.”

“You can’t remember any of your old dreams?”

“No, and I’m glad about that. They way you talk about them, they must’ve been bad.”

“They were.”

Chad’s stomach gurgled. “I’m starving. How does beans on toast for breakfast sound?”

“It sounds bland.”

“Bland is what I do best.”

“I’ll cook us something,” Romeo said. “I’ve missed cooking for you.”

Chad smiled, and Romeo admired the warmth in his eyes, basking in the look a moment until Chad’s stomach whined again.

Romeo left Chad stretching in the living room.

Like he’d heard through the boarded-up window, there were two magpies in the field again. They hopped around together while the songbirds dropped seeds from above.

It was far more peaceful than it had been before.

The magpies had needed to swoop, and knock into their feeders, unable to perch.

It had been chaotic, savage almost, the way they attacked the feeders for their food. Romeo had enjoyed watching them, but the calm outside was hard to look away from.

Romeo whisked up eggs, adding a chopped mushroom and some grated cheese to the mix.

Chad joined him when he poured the mixture into a frying pan.

“That smells incredible.”

“It’s only eggs.”

“I was talking about you,” Chad sat down at the table.

Romeo flashed him a quick smile, then went back to watching the pan. He glanced out the window just in time to see the shadow pass over the birds.

The songbirds took flight, and the magpies followed, and there was no squark of death.

But it was still there, the bad omen.

The dark shadow.

It hadn’t left like Chad said it would.

“Romeo?”

His heart thundered behind his ribs.

“I’ve missed something.”

“What?”

“I know I have...”

He flipped over the omelet to cook the other side.

“That night we went to the bridge...” Romeo started.

“What about it?”

“You had a brightness in your eyes, a fire, and I’ve only ever seen it when you’re working a case, and the way you were speaking ... it was the same as when we’d looked into Harriet’s disappearance.”

“Oh.”

“Oh,” Romeo repeated, twisting to face him. Chad stared at his hands, fidgeting on the table.

“You were treating your own suicide attempt like a case. Why?”

Chad shrugged.

“Try again,” Romeo said.

“Why does it matter? You said you thought it was the pills. I was just unlucky enough to be one in a hundred thousand that’s all.”

“Tell me why.”

“Because,” Chad lowered his head. “It didn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?”

“It didn’t feel like something I would do. I can’t...” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to describe it, but no one was surprised,” Chad glanced Romeo’s way. “Except you. When I told you ... your reaction. I don’t know, I just wanted to see the bridge, and hoped I might remember something, but I didn’t.”

“Who prescribed you those capsules?”

“I don’t know,” Chad admitted, pointing to the unused box. “I got those ones from the hospital pharmacy.”

Romeo served up their breakfast, but instead of joining Chad, he yanked open the drawer with the other box of medication.

“But where are these from? I didn’t know you were seeing a doctor, you never told me.” He frowned, joining Chad at the table. “How long had you been seeing one?”

Chad kept his eyes low. “I don’t kn—”

“It’s okay,” Romeo said, reaching across the table to squeeze Chad’s hand. “I’m speaking aloud, that’s all, I’m not accusing you.” He used his nail to pierce the blister pack and removed a capsule. “What is in these things?”

“The ingredients are on the side of the box—”

“But how do you know that’s what’s really inside them?”

Chad paused, fork halfway from his plate to his mouth. He paled, eyeing the capsule like it might jump from Romeo’s fingers and bite him. “W-what do you mean?”

“There could be anything inside these.”

Chad continued to look wary.

Romeo rolled the capsule in his fingers. One half white, the other half green. “We don’t know where you got them or who you got them from.” He frowned. “The hospital prescribed you those ones on the side...”

“To help me sleep.”

“How did they know you had trouble sleeping?”

“Ally told my doctors.”

Romeo pinched the capsule. “They prescribed you the same medication, even though it might have contributed to your suicide attempt?”

“I guess...”

“They wouldn’t do that,” Romeo pulled the capsule apart. “They can’t have known about these.”

White powder sprinkled the table. Romeo ran his forefinger through it, and was about to press it into his mouth—

“Don’t!” Chad blurted.

“Why not?”

“In case...” Chad shook his head. He avoided facing Romeo. “In case you’re right.”

Romeo got up and crossed the kitchen to get the unopened box.

“What are you doing?” Chad asked.

The capsules looked the same. Romeo pulled one apart, sprinkling the same fine white powder over the worktop.

He stiffened at the hand on his shoulder. Chad stood behind him, biting his lip.

“The pictures on your phone.” Romeo blurted.

“What pictures?”

Romeo brushed Chad’s hand from his shoulder, searching the kitchen for Chad’s phone. “There’s a folder. Where’s your phone, Chad?”

Chad pulled it from his pocket. “Here.”

Romeo took it, scrolling the phone until he found the folder.

He pressed down on the woman’s smiling face before showing Chad.

Chad gave her a blank look, then glanced back up at Romeo. “I don’t know who she is. I don’t remember.”

Romeo exhaled, clicking off her picture.

“What’s going on, Romeo?”

“I’ve missed something,” he shook his head. “I know I have. There’s still something here. There’s still a shadow over us.”

He pressed down on the man’s face.

“Him,” Romeo said. “What about him?”

Chad had the same blank look on his face, then it changed. His breath caught and his eyes went wide, and his mouth slowly opened like he wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

“What is it?” Romeo asked. “Who is he?”

Chad didn’t answer.

“Chad?” Romeo studied him. His skin leached of color. He was shaking. “ Shit .”

He put the phone down. “Breathe, Chad.”

Romeo cupped his face. “Jesus.”

He could hear Chad’s heart booming. He felt it when he pulled Chad close.

“Hey,” Romeo said, stroking Chad’s cheek. “You keep this up, you’ll pass out. You’ve got to breathe.”

Chad stared straight through him. Whatever he was seeing wasn’t Romeo.

“You’re okay. You’re with me. I’m here, Chad. I’m. Right. Here.”

Chad inhaled sharply.

“That’s it,” Romeo said. “And let it out, don’t just hold it.”

Chad’s eyelashes fluttered. He let out his breath.

“Perfect.” Romeo said. “Close your eyes.”

Chad did as Romeo directed.

“Breathe with me,” Romeo hugged him, tucking his face out of sight of the world. Chad breathed against him, slow and steady, until his heart calmed down. Romeo rubbed circles onto Chad’s back, waiting until he’d relaxed enough to speak again.

“Fuck,” Chad croaked, peeling his cheek from Romeo’s chest.

“What happened?” Romeo asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know that man?”

“No... I don’t know...” Chad’s brow folded in pain. “Do you know him?”

Romeo’s shoulders slumped. “No.”

“I guess we’ve got to find out who he is then...”

“How?”

Chad leaned back. “We can always search for the images online, see where they came from, that’s a start.”

His eyes were bright again, determined.

“That sounds like a great idea.”