"I agree." Startled, Josh whirled around, and saw Karl lounging in the doorway, giving the room his own look of approval. "I have to say, I love what you've done with the place." "Thanks." Fuck, Karl was a sight for sore eyes. Josh's gaze traversed along worn jeans and a bright blue t-shirt that stretched attractively across a muscled chest. Karl's hair was pulled back into a loosely knotted ponytail, and Josh noted his eyes were clear, bright, relaxed. Seemed the few weeks away had done him a world of good. Karl grinned. "What, no welcome home?" "I, um," Josh started, then stopped as Karl straightened and started towards him. Each move was lazy, graceful, and Josh felt his mouth go dry. "Um?" Before Josh could answer, soft lips covered his and one hand cupped his jaw. That was the only contact between them, but Josh could feel every nerve in his body snap to attention. "Much better," Karl said, when he pulled back. His thumb slipped from Josh's jaw to his throat. "Mmmm..." Josh was certain he had to look like a love-struck teen at a Jonas Brothers show right about now, but he really didn't care. "You look good." "I could say the same about you." Another soft kiss, then Karl gestured at the kitchen. "I hardly recognize the place." "Good thing, since it was totally trashed. C'mon, let me show you around. Harry and I've been busting balls the past few days, once the contractors left." "So you put Harry to work?" "He actually volunteered," Josh said over his shoulder. He led Karl down the hall to the first bedroom, stepping back after pushing open the door. "Sean, too." "Sean volunteered for construction work?" Karl sounded amused at the idea, and Josh could feel his approval of the work on the room through their bond. "I'm not even going to ask how entertaining the two of them were." "Very," Josh laughed. "It's hard to wield a hammer, though, when you're crying with laughter." "Hopefully your thumbs came out of it unscathed." Josh just waggled his fingers. "Still have them." He gestured to the room. "This is the guest room." "Very nice," Karl nodded. "I like the colors." "Well, I figured to make it neutral, since I've got a brother and a sister that'll be coming to visit," Josh said, and led Karl further down the hall "I can't wait to meet them." "Me either." Josh stopped in the doorway of the room he'd already dubbed his studio. "Sean had a lot of great ideas about how to soundproof this room, too. You didn't tell me he worked in electronics." "It's one of his specialties." He moved through the room, lightly touching various pieces of equipment - boxed and unboxed - and then looked at Josh. "If you need help getting any of this set up, you could do a lot worse than call him." "That's what Harry said. Sean's coming over tomorrow night to get started." Josh chewed his lip for a moment as he leaned against the doorframe, hands shoved deep in his pockets. "The equipment...I know you said don't worry about money, but, um..." "Is it top of the line?" Karl asked, looking around again. "All of it," Josh admitted, still trying to get used to the idea of unlimited funds. "Then there's nothing to discuss," Karl said, and smiled. That smile did things to Josh that he was pretty sure had to be illegal. "If it wasn't, you'd be returning it." "Oh, I would, would I?" "Only the best for my business partners," Karl replied, and stepped forward, pulling Josh into a loose hug. "Somehow I doubt you set all of your other business partners with houses," Josh said, stepping closer so that their bodies brushed together. "Just Harry, but the castle was always his. I keep trying to set him up as my kept man, but he keeps resisting." "Does he? I'm shocked." He closed his eyes and lifted his chin when Karl dipped his head to run his lips along Josh's throat. "Probably a good idea, though." "Hmm...why's that?" "Set a bad example for your boy toy." Josh turned his head just enough to graze his lips across Karl's temple, inhaling the scent of Karl's shampoo. "Probably gets enough ideas on his own." "He does." Another quick bite, then Karl lifted his head. "I take it you're still annoyed with him." Josh shrugged. He wouldn't call it annoyed, but he supposed that word worked as well as any other. "He picks a fight with me and gets to go off with you for three weeks. I'm not saying I have a problem with you two spending some time alone, don't get me wrong, but yeah, I was pretty ticked that he got rewarded for bad behavior." "I see." It probably wasn't the best idea ever to bring this up after ten minutes back together, but Karl had asked, and Josh wasn't about to lie to him. "And if I were to ask that the two of you try to work out your differences?" Karl finally asked, brushing Josh's hair from his forehead. "You seemed to get on well enough in London." "That was before he turned into a dick and threatened me." No, he hadn't wanted to discuss the situation with Orlando this soon, but since they were, they may as well discuss it all. "Josh..." Karl paused and shook his head before taking a step back. He took Josh's hand and tugged him towards the living room, waiting until they were settled on the sofa before speaking again. "He's going to apologize for that." "I don't want you –" "I'm not making him," Karl said, voice firm in a way that had Josh swallowing the rest of his words. "Orlando wants to. And, despite what you think, Orlando wasn't being rewarded for bad behavior. He's scared of dying and even more scared of losing what we have if he doesn't." "Wait, losing what you and he have?" When Karl nodded, Josh's brows furrowed. "That's nuts, man, you two are bonded. Only Viggo could break that." "I think all of this talk of Harry having the alpha claim on him has gotten to him." Karl squeezed Josh's hands gently. "There isn't a competition between you. I hope you know this." Josh lifted a shoulder. "I know it just fine. Does he?" He still wasn't sure why Karl and Orlando needed to spend three weeks together to get all of that sorted. Especially since he and Karl hadn't even talked about their own ceremony yet... And fuck, man, he was starting to sound like a jealous goddamn bridezilla planning a wedding. Peachy. And, to be honest, it wasn't about Karl and Orlando going off together. It was how it had happened that he had a problem with. "He knows. He's known all along, once he accepted that you will be my pet. Orlando can be stubborn, but –" "One way of putting it." "Josh," Karl said, and Josh had a brief thought that maybe he'd crossed a line somewhere. "He's willing to try to get along with you if you are with him. And if you can't, then I expect you to at least be civil to each other." "Alright," he finally said. "I'll try." "That's all I ask," Karl said, softening his voice as one hand cupped Josh's jaw. "There are methods of dealing with Orlando -- and with the rest of us, as well -- that you'll learn in time. And he and I have always needed time alone together. It's one reason we went." "And here I was thinking it was because you were both horny," Josh shot back, before he could stop himself. Fuck. He pulled back out of Karl's hold. "Look, I'm not saying this because I'm jealous or anything – I knew what I was getting myself into and I'm cool with the status quo – but you're not doing your relationship with Orlando any favors by coddling him." "Coddling?" Karl asked, sounding confused. "Yeah, coddling." Josh stood, paced a few steps before turning to face Karl. "I've been doing a lot of observing over the past few weeks, and you guys treat Orlando like he's some sort of fragile creature in need of protecting." "We do?" "Yeah. You all handle him with kid gloves because of some fucked up need to atone for something that happened ten years ago, and it's only gonna get worse once he's mortal again if you don't stop." Josh had no idea where this outpouring of words was coming from, but it felt like it had been bottled inside him forever, just waiting to come out. "Are you pissed because Orlando and I were gone so long? I'd have done the same for you if your entire world was about to get turned upside down and shaken hard." "My entire world is ready to get turned upside down, remember?" Josh pointed out, glaring at Karl across the few feet that separated them. "You're not in any danger of dying," Karl said, forcing the word through clenched teeth. "No, I'm not. And neither is he, not really, or you guys wouldn't even be contemplating letting him go through with it, so there's no fucking reason to carry him off like some damsel in distress and kiss his ass for almost a month without a word to anyone else." A small part of him was appalled to realize he was close to shouting. Karl shot to his feet and spread his arms wide open, anger radiating from him in waves. "What do you want from me?" A good fucking question. "I have no idea," he finally said in a soft voice. "But did it ever occur to you to think about the fact that my life is also changing completely and the first thing that you do when you've got some free time is run off with your other pet? I mean, I get it, I really do, his shit's fucked up and about to get even more fucked up and I know you need to be there for him, but everything is not all about him." "I never said –" "You didn't have to," Josh interrupted, feeling weary beyond belief. He pressed his thumbs against his eyelids to try to relieve some of the pressure behind them. He could feel the headache starting to form. "Your actions did it for you. I know I told you I can take care of myself, and I can, but that doesn't mean I want you to take me for granted. Harry warned me you weren't much for thinking before you acted, but Jesus, you're over nine centuries old, haven't you learned how to deal with people?" "No, not really." When Josh looked up, puzzled, Karl gave him a sheepish shrug. "Until Orlando, I never allowed any mortal other than Harry to get that close to me to care." "I'll try to keep that in mind," Josh said, after a long pause. Fuck, this wasn't getting them anywhere. "You can still change your mind." The words were so quiet that Josh wasn't sure he'd heard right. "Up until the actual ceremony, you can back out." "What makes you think I want to?" "Clearly, there are...issues." Karl held up a hand before Josh even opened his mouth. "Mine, Harry's, Orlando's, yours, it doesn't matter. They're there, and they're causing a problem. I would have done the same for you if you'd needed it." "For three weeks?" "For however long it took," Karl said. His gaze never wavered. "You never indicated anything was wrong, and Harry encouraged me to take as much time as I wanted, so I believed things were fine here." Which made some sort of sense, although Josh suspected that one of the reasons why Harry wanted Karl and Orlando out of his hair for so long was so he could have some time alone with...well, whoever it was he'd run off with for two weeks. Harry hadn't volunteered and Josh hadn't asked. He'd been too busy while everyone had been gone to care, and even busier once Harry had rolled back into town. "It's great that you checked in with Harry," he finally said, "but you never asked me if I was okay with it." Karl opened his mouth, then just as abruptly closed it. "I didn't, did I?" "No, you didn't. I doubt you thought about me at all. So maybe you might want to ask yourself if you want to go through with this." Karl's fingers brushed along his, and Josh caught his breath at the shock of it. "I'm sorry," Karl said. "I've been accused of carelessness before, but that's no excuse. I should have talked to you personally about my plans." "Yes, you should have." Josh curled his fingers around Karl's and took another step. He held himself there, forced himself to not step into the circle of Karl's arms just yet. "I am sorry. I seem to be doomed to make the same mistakes with the mortals I become involved with. Harry was the only one I got remotely right. And even that was a battle." "With your people skills, I'm not surprised." He butted his forehead against Karl's in a gentle gesture. "And before you ask again, yes, I'm sure that I want this. You're clueless and you've got some serious baggage, but I've never felt anything like what I feel for you." He could feel, rather than see, Karl's answering smile. "Good, because otherwise I would have been forced to kidnap you until you'd come to your senses." "I'm not as easy as Orlando." "God, I hope not," Karl laughed as he pressed a swift kiss to Josh's lips. "After the ceremony, we should take a few days." Josh shook his head, even though he was pleased at the gesture. "You need to be here for Orlando." "Harry'll be here. And I think you and I do need the time," Karl replied, tracing lazy circles onto Josh's back. "I'm not just saying this out of guilt. I've been thinking of taking you someplace wild and exotic." "I can do wild and exotic," Josh said, with a wicked grin. The grin faded a little as he studied Karl's eyes. "Are we doing the ceremony before or after Orlando...you know...?" "Will it matter?" "Yes," he said, quietly. "Orlando needs you here. Sure, Harry will probably be enough, but why risk it?" "Thank you," Karl answered, with a smile that made Josh's heart skip a few beats. "If it's alright with you, we'll do the ceremony and then postpone our vacation until after he's through the worst of it." "I'm cool with that," Josh replied. "Family's dying to meet you guys, by the way." "Are they?" "Mmhmm." Josh gave him another short kiss. "Mostly because they're amused as all hell that I managed to get myself all tangled up with a vampire when I swore I'd never go down this path." "Glad I could change your mind, then." Leaning in, Karl brushed his lips across Josh's throat, then inhaled in a way that had Josh fighting back a moan. "I can't wait to meet them." "Good," Josh whispered, then turned his head to catch Karl's lips in a possessive, heated kiss that left them both shaking in its wake. "Missed you." "Missed you, too," Karl replied with a soft smile as Josh threaded his fingers through dark hair, tugging loose the tie that held it at Karl's nape. Much better, Josh thought. "Feel up to christening the place?" With a laugh, Karl started to tug at Josh's t-shirt. "And here I was thinking you'd never ask." Josh countered with his own grin as he stepped into the circle of Karl's arms. "I think the rest of the tour can wait," he said, just before Karl's lips met his again, and further thought was lost. Onto Part Thirty-Four
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