The Wizard and the Thief The Magician

Prologue

"So you kin do the job?"

Plum rolled his eyes, pulling hard upon the hookah in his lips. He could do this job -- and any other, no doubt -- with his eyes closed and his hands bound.

Still, this was part and parcel of the dance -- playing up the danger, the risk to his oh-so-valuable ass and freedom. Honestly. He was getting too old to pull pointless jobs.

"Of course I can do it. There's no one in all the Fellsland who would manage better and you well know it." He tossed his hair, the heavy gold falling around him and catching the firelight. His fingers twitched, the tiny magicks he had making him seem brighter, larger, more.

The little man nodded, head bobbing like a bird's. "That why I come to you." He looked around, and then leaned in, whispering. "You know the Delacroix mansion?"

Oh, by the light in the great Lady's eyes. Why did he always get the over-ambitious ones? "The wizard's house? I know it."

That head bobbed up and down again, a giggle sounding. "O’ course, o’ course you do." Another look went around the room, and his... employer leaned in even closer. The smell wasn't the most pleasant. "You heard of the lodestone?"

"The lodestone? As in the wizard's focus stone? You cannot possibly be serious." Interesting. Possibly entertaining.

"Ah... you can' do it after all." The man sighed. "It was a long shot."

"When, in our conversation, did I say I could not take the job on?" Idiot.

"You said I couldn' be serious!" The little man looked around after his outburst and dragged his chair even closer. Which wasn't going to make them any less conspicuous. Triple idiot. "I am, though. Are you really goin' to do it?"

"It depends on what you're willing to pay, dear man." Honestly, any closer and he'd inherit fleas.

A grin revealed a mouth full of rotten teeth. "Coin’s not an issue. Twenty gold now, another fifty when you deliver."

"Nonsense. For that risk? Fifty now, forty upon delivery." Bright Lady, that he would never be poor or old.

"Thirty now, forty on delivery."

"Forty now, thirty-five when you get the stone." He could feel his nose twitching.

"Thirty now, forty on delivery. I will no’ pay you the bulk and ‘ave you sell the stone out from under me," hissed his would-be employer.

"And I would not risk my skin for less than you could get in payment for selling me out to the wizard himself." Gods, he hadn't had such fun in ages.

The little man's eyes seemed to cross as he worked that one out. Then he began to chew on his lower lip. "What if you left something of value with me? Then I would give you your forty now, and thirty on delivery -- if I knew you would be guaranteed to actually deliver it."

"You could arrange to meet me outside on the street. I have no intention of carrying the stone for any length of time." Honestly, the wizard would be quite put out, once the act was discovered.

His about-to-be employer obviously hadn't thought of that angle, for he bobbed his head up and down eagerly. "Yes. Yes. That will do. It will."

One hand disappeared into the tattered cloak, coming out with a small pouch that jingled enticingly when shaken. "We ‘ave an agreement?"

"We do." He took the pouch so quickly that the little bastard didn't even see it.

Eyes narrowing, a frown on the ugly face, his employer sniffed, shifted. "You're doing it tonight?"

"Tonight? It would be wisest to discover whether the wizard wasusing the stone, yes?"

The man waved his hand. "Details. As long as you tell me when to meet you."

"Three nights time will be adequate." He could plan, see what the wizard's schedule was.

"Good, good. We ‘ave a deal, then. I'll have your 'ead if you try to cheat me."

"Nonsense. I'll see you in three night's time at the late bell. Keep your threats for those who are concerned."

The little man snarled at him and then looked around, for what Plum had no clue, and then his employer made his way out, scurrying like a rat.

Well, at least he had something to occupy him for endweek. A wizard's place. Terribly interesting.

He'd enjoy this job.

Chapter One

He crept in through the kitchen door, the sweet little maid sleeping soundly by the fire, the draught he'd slipped into the soup assuring the entire house a sweet, deep sleep.

The stone should be in the wizard's workroom; at least that's where they were rumored to be kept. Plum'd not been inside a wizard's inner sanctum more than once or twice. His family didn't worry much with training in the arts; they much preferred learning how to slip in and out. It was in his blood.

He'd been in the house four times now and he didn't need to light a lamp to move toward the back stairs, toward the servant's quarters. The Delacroix place was large and fancy up front, but the rooms beyond were warm and cozy, lived in.

He hadn't managed to get to the wizard's inner sanctum on his other visits, but he knew it was at the back of the house next to Rochefort Delacroix's rooms.

Rochefort. What a name. Honestly.

Plum stuck to the shadows, sliding past one sleeping servant after another.

There was light coming from beneath Delacroix's door, but his workroom, his inner sanctum was dark. Plum knew it was the right room -- it was the only door with spells upon it. Delacroix had to be very confident -- they were simple, easy to subvert spells meant to keep people like him out.

Plum whispered the little cantrip to cancel out the wards and then found a coin on a chain, swinging it against the door to make sure the spell worked.

Excellent.

He turned the handle and walked in, a candle lighting on its own. Fancy.

The place was surprisingly plain. Normal. There was an old, tattered and comfortable looking couch piled high with cushions. There was a long table crowded with books, ingredients, bowls.

Lodestone. Lodestone. It had to be here somewhere.

It wasn't until he stopped, standing still for a moment that he heard it -- or rather felt it. There was a faint pulse coming from the corner of the room. Plum tilted his head, hands smoothing down his cape that hid his face, his figure. Close. It was close. He could feel that pulse inside him now and as he took a step toward the corner, it got stronger, drawing him almost to the dark corner.

There was a chair there, ugly as sin, with gnarled black wood carved into devilish faces. Sitting in the right hand arm was the lodestone, the dark blue seeming to glimmer with each pulse once he was near.

He grabbed a bit of cloth from his pocket, a silk bag to hold the stone. He knew better than to touch it with his bare hand. It was set in the armrest of the chair, but loose and it didn't take any effort at all to snatch it up and place it inside the silk. His arm tingled and his eyes shot to the window, Plum trying to decide whether to slide down the outside of the house or slip out the same way he came.

The light suddenly grew brighter, several candles coming to life without a sound. "Well, well, what do we have here?" The voice was low, husky, the snooty accent one might expect from a wizard of noble background to support surprisingly absent.

"Shall I get the guard, sir?"

Delini's Balls.

Window it was.

He went for it at a dead run.

The glass held, and he bounced off it like a ball of rubber, a tall, handsome face coming to hover over him.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Ruben. I seem to have things in hand. Make sure everyone is all

right, please."

Hells. Hells. Plum’s mind was working furiously, looking for the way out, the escape route.

Delacroix crouched down next to him, hand pressing toward him through the air, a soft incantation sounding. "Don't bother to struggle, sir. You're quite stuck."

Plum groaned, fighting to make his muscles work, his body cooperate.

"I believe you're holding something of mine. Where is it?"

Plum tried every freedom spell he knew, focusing only on freeing himself. How had they captured him so easily?

"You would prefer I searched you?" Long-fingered hands began to move over him, starting at his shoulders and working their way down. The touch was surprisingly thorough, sliding over him as if fascinated, rather than searching. And the little silk bag in his pocket wasn't found until Delacroix's search had taken those hands down over his legs and back up.He could still feel the damned thing pulsing, why couldn't Delacroix?

The lodestone was freed from its silk prison, the stone glowing brightly in Delacroix's hand. "What on earth possessed you to attempt to take this from me?"

Coin. Excitement. Honor. He met those eyes, simply staring.

"Did you come on your own or did someone hire you?" Delacroix's eyes were grey, dark.

"Why would I want your stone?" It meant nothing to him.

"Who hired you?" Delacroix leaned in close. "You will tell me."

"I will not." He was no petty thief to be frightened. His boot knife had not been discovered; he would escape.

Delacroix laughed and stood, the spell that was holding him down waved away. "You will. Even if it takes hours. Days. Weeks..."

He feigned a collapse, knife sliding from his heel as he grabbed the wizard, blade at the thin throat. "I have no wish to harm you. None. I simply wish escape."

"You lost your chance for escape the moment you tried to steal my stone, thief." There wasn't even a hint of fear in Delacroix's eyes, and the lodestone thrummed. Before he could even blink, Delacroix's hand had wrapped around his wrist and tugged it away, twisting it until he dropped the knife. "Do I have to strip you naked to make sure you are unarmed?"

He struggled, shocked at the strength and raw power in the man. His hand was forced behind his back, Delacroix twisting it until he was on his toes, pressed up against the wizard's body.

"You're in a wizard's inner sanctum, thief. Do you really expect to escape?"

"You will not keep me." He kept his face, his body as hidden as possible.

His arm was twisted a little more behind his back, pressing him harder against Delacroix's warmth. "I believe that I shall."

He could smell the wizard, rich and warm and oddly fascinating. Arousing. What nonsense.

"Do you have a name, thief?" Delacroix asked, continuing to hold him, keeping him caught.

"No." He whispered a cantrip, his skin going hot, then ice cold. The touch never faltered, never loosened.

"No? None? I am Rochefort Cormier Delacroix. But then you already know that. It's quite rude, you know, a guest inmy home who will not give his host his name."

"A guest in your dungeons, more likely." Damn it all.

Delacroix laughed softly, breath warm against his face. "Oh, we haven't kept anyone in the dungeons for ages. I could compel you to tell me."

No. No, he wouldn't tell. Delacroix couldn't force him.

"No? I think perhaps I will save my magick. There are other ways to get men to talk." Delacroix slid a finger beneath his chin, tilting his head up. "Yes. Other ways."

Plum stared into those eyes, groaning as his hood fell away, exposing him.

Delacroix's eyes darkened at the sight of him. "Such a pretty thief."

Plum groaned, struggling a bit harder. He did hate to use sex as a weapon. He'd do it, but he much preferred other games.

"Sir?" A voice came from the doorway, but Delacroix's gaze never left him.

"What?"

"The household is fine, sir. In fact everyone is sleeping quite soundly."

Delacroix's lips twitched. "Are they really? Thank you, Ruben. You may retire yourself."

"Are you sure, sir? I could call the guard."

"That won't be necessary." And still those grey eyes held him.

"I could take the thief to the dungeons."

Delacroix grinned outright at that. "Go to bed, Ruben. I have things well in hand."

Ruben sniffed and Plum thought the man might offer to take his balls or something, but he didn't, and then they were alone again.

"My staff all sleeping soundly, hmm? You are a clever thief, as well as bold."

"I intended no one harm." That, in theory, was the truth.

"Indeed, you have harmed no one. And you will not." Delacroix let him go suddenly and went to sit in the ugly chair where he'd found the lodestone. "You cannot leave this room."

"You cannot hold me here." There wasn't a prison in all the lands that had held him.

"You think not?" Delacroix grinned. "You haven't left yet."

It was only a matter of time and determination. His eyes cut to the window, searching a moment for his employer.

Delacroix stood and went to the window, looking out. "Missing a partner? If you had one, it appears you have been abandoned."

"I work alone." Even wizards slept. Why hadn't the smug bastard eaten the soup?

"I still am fascinated by the question of why you would choose to steal my lodestone." Those grey eyes didn't look sleepy at all.

"I was paid to take it. Take it up with my employer."

"And will you be more forthcoming with your employer's name than you have been with your own?"

"I don't know it." He never did. That information was dangerous.

Delacroix rolled his eyes. "Come now, thief. You stole into my home; you attempted to steal my lodestone. The least you can do in return is entertain me."

Entertain? That he could do. Plum whispered a tiny spell, the wind beginning to blow, to fan the flames in the fireplace wildly.

"Oh, you aren't entirely without magicks!"

Not entirely. Not entirely at all. He tapped at the windowpane, covering the sound with more wind.

Delacroix sprawled in his chair, playing with the lodestone as he watched. "Can you do anything other than make a bit of breeze blow?"

The glass cracked under his fingers. Excellent. "A few things." He set a bookcase aflame, tapping again, harder.

Delacroix stood and growled, hand flashing through the air, putting out the fire. "Do not destroy my

study," the wizard ordered, coming to stand next to him. One hand slid over the glass, the crack disappearing. "And leave the window alone, thief -- I've told you, you aren't leaving."

He almost growled -- almost -- but he schooled himself to patience. Even wizards slept.

Delacroix's fingers slid across his cheek, cold from touching the window, surprisingly gentle. "Tell me your name."

His lips opened, but he caught himself, stopped himself from whispering 'Plum'.

Delacroix's head ducked, sliding their lips together. A fire blazed between them, sudden and surprising, startling him badly. The wizard's tongue slid into his mouth, the touch going straight to his cock.

What was this madness? What was wrong with him? Plum jerked back, head cracking on the glass hard enough that the room dimmed and the firelight wavered, then the place went dark.

***

Corm caught the thief in before he hit the floor, using his magick to ease the man down. By the lady of the night, the man was pretty. Not handsome, not beautiful -- pretty.

He brought his fingers to his own lips, the sensation of his thief's mouth against his own fading at his touch. Curious.

Curious enough to keep the thief. Though not in his workshop. His bedroom would do.

He called on his magick, lifting the thief into his arms and carrying him down the hall into the rooms he called his own. The fire burned brightly, his book and his chocolate liqueur -- he had a weakness for it -sitting abandoned by his favorite chair where he'd been curled up before his home had been invaded.

It was the room beyond his sitting room he was headed for, though, a single candle flaring to life as he pushed the door open with his foot. Darker and cooler than his sitting room, it was also smaller, holding little more than his bed and armoire. He really was a simple man, despite the facade that he displayed in public.

He put the thief into his bed and sat, examining the pretty face more closely. Lean and pointed, the man had pale skin and hair the color of straw, long and curling around delicate shoulders.

He drew his knees up and rested his chin on them. He hadn't seen anything he wanted more than this man in a very long time.

There was a tiny scar on the man's throat -- a line from a blade, he imagined -- and the hint of one of the clan markings underneath the tight, dark clothing the man wore. Corm wanted the man's name, damn it. As a start.

He shook the thief's shoulder, then shifted to lean in close. "Tell me your name," he whispered.

It took only the barest touch, a tease of sensual pleasure and desire, and those full lips moved. "Plum."

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Plum.

It suited the man.

He grinned, and stroked one cheek. By the lady there was something powerful between them. Plum nuzzled into his touch, then frowned, the act marring the smooth forehead.

"Frown all you like, Plum, but you're in my house now, and I'm not going to let you go easily." He murmured softly, an incantation that would keep Plum within the walls of the mansion.

Lovely eyes -- pale as the sky before a storm -- flashed open, staring up at him.

"Evening, Plum."

The delicately arched eyebrows lifted, Plum's lips going tight.

"Yes, I know your name now. Quite colorful." He touched Plum's cheek again, biting his tongue to keep from gasping at the heat that flared immediately between them. It was pure energy, building higher and faster than any he'd ever experienced.

He turned his gentle touches into a caress, cupping Plum's cheek, tilting his face.

"I..." Plum groaned, pulling away from him, throat working. "What magick is this?"

He shook his head. "Not of my doing." He placed his hand on Plum's shoulder, the touch just as potent through cloth.

"You lie." Plum's body arched, hips rolling up.

"I do not."

Plum moved like a cat, graceful, lovely. Groaning, he bent and pressed his lips against Plum’s.

Plum moaned, lips parting a moment before the man pulled away. "Let me go."

He shook his head. "I wasn't inclined to do that before, I certainly won't be doing it now." He pressed their lips together again, intent on nothing more than feeling that fire flare between them again.

He had never felt such a burn, such a fierce connection, and it drew him, fascinated him like nothing else had in years. He slid his hand over Plum's face again, searching for magicks as he slid his tongue into Plum's mouth, but there were no magicks here but his own, no magicks but the one that flowed between them.

Plum's tongue pushed into his lips, forceful and suddenly hungry, demanding. Moaning, he opened, let the man in, his own hunger fed by Plum's.

Plum rolled him, pushing him down into the mattress, lean body draped over him. He allowed it, sliding his hands down to grab Plum's ass. It was round and sweet, felt good in his palm. Plum rocked up toward his touch, eyes flashing open, staring into him.

"What?" he asked, squeezing Plum's ass. His other hand slid behind Plum's head, pulling him back in.

"I don't..." Yes. Yes, it quite appeared that Plum did.

He pushed his tongue back into Plum's mouth, that fire right there between them. Plum wrapped his lips around Corm's tongue, sucking hard, sensations zinging between them. His hips pushed up over and over, rubbing against Plum, almost shaking from the intensity of it.

"What are you doing to me?" The words were a low growl, Plum's hand hot where it cupped his cock.

"The same thing you're doing to me!" This passion had not been fashioned by spells and magick, it was a power of its own.

"I'm not. I can't. My spells are..." Plum groaned, teeth sharp on his jaw, his throat.

He jerked, head going back to make sure Plum had room. To mark him. He'd never... Groaning, he pressed hard on Plum's ass, bringing their bodies even closer together.

Plum bit deep, groaning and beginning to hump down against him, motions desperate and hungry. He met Plum's movements, feeling the fire build and build. He had not come in his clothes since he was an eager youth, but he was about to do so now.

He could feel Plum's climax in the energies ringing around him, around them. He gave himself over to it, letting the pleasure take over. Crying out, he came, shuddering beneath Plum's body.

Plum rested against him a bit, heart pounding against him. He could feel the man's muscles shifting, tensing, readying to run. He felt a growl building up inside him. He didn't want Plum to run. He wanted the man to stay right here and for them to see what this was between them, to see if it persisted. How dare Plum not want the same thing?

Plum's lips brushed his throat, that flash of energy coming again. It had him gasping, his hands reaching to circle Plum again. He held on.

"I have to go." The words were whispered on his skin.

"No, you don't."

Plum didn't have to go at all.

Corm held on tighter and then let his hands slide away. Plum couldn't leave the house anyway.

"You're something special..." His collarbone got another soft kiss, a soft sleep spell wafting over him.

He shook his head, even as his eyes closed. "Then you have to stay."

"I cannot." Was that sorrow?

"Can't leave," Corm insisted. The room felt as if it were spinning, the sleeping spell trying to get through his defenses. "Choose to stay or you are my prisoner."

"I'm no one's prisoner, sweet light."

"If you choose to stay you are not." He whispered a few words, shaking off the effects of the spell, and blinked up at Plum. "And you may call me Corm."

"Corm..."

"I want to hear you say it in passion."

"I. Why won't you sleep?"

He rolled Plum, putting the man beneath him, his fingers working at the ties on Plum's blouse. "Because here I am stronger than you."

Plum’s skin was milk-pale, the dark inked marks of the Delacroix clan painted into the flesh. He gasped, tracing the mark. "You wear the mark of my family!"

"Nonsense." The shirt was tugged closed, Plum whirling from the bed, that voluminous cloak surrounding the lean form.

"I know what I saw." He followed Plum, grabbing the man's arm.

"You imagine things." The slender arm slid from his grasp, Plum heading for the door.

He hadn't been though; he knew his own clan markings well enough. He followed Plum, knowing the man couldn't leave the house. Plum moved faster than he could follow, the black-robed man seeming to disappear into the shadows. He was amazed at how quickly the man could move inhis house, and it made him wonder how often Plum had been here in advance of his attempt to take the stone.

He knew Plum couldn't leave, not with his magick trapping Plum within his walls, but it still galled him that the man had disappeared so effortlessly. He increased the scope of his search, using his magick to detect movement.

Ah. The secret passage ways. Howhad Plum found them?

He slipped into the maze of corridors built into the walls and headed after Plum. Finally he could see a pinprick of light ahead and he hurried. "You cannot escape me, Plum."

He thought he heard the surprised intake of air; he knew he could feel Plum moving away. He rolled his eyes. Whoever it was who had said it was the chase that was half the fun had obviously never chased anyone through cold, dark, damp secret passages. "We could be in my warm bed right now."

Plum's chuckle teased him. "I cannot stay, sweet jailer."

"Why not? What is waiting for you out there? More thieving?" He was close now, and he slowed, giving up speed for silence.

"It is my work..." Plum was close enough to smell.

He let his hearing and his sense of smell guide him, taking three more steps and reaching out to grab Plum's arm. "Take a holiday."

Plum gasped, the lightning of energy flaring between them.

"Take a long holiday," he amended, pressing Plum up against the stone wall, mouth finding Plum's in the darkness, drawn unerringly to it.

He hadn't known to search for this, to want this that flared between them, but he'd not give it up willingly now. He plundered the mouth beneath his, pressing his body up along Plum's. The thief was slender, but solid enough, real and warm, a hardness that matched his own. The kiss grew hard-edged, Plum's fingers digging into his arms, whether to pull him closer or push him away, Corm wasn't sure. He pressed his thigh between Plum's legs, tongue pushing deeper, fucking Plum's mouth.

"Let me go." Plum jerked his head away, pale eyes gleaming at him.

"Why are you insisting on denying this... thing between us?"

"Why wouldn't I? We are, if you'll think on it, very recently met."

Think on it? He knew Plum could feel the same heat as he. "I'm not thinking, Plum. Why are you?"

"You’re a wizard. You'resupposed to think."

"I can think tomorrow." After he'd had Plum's ass, after he'd let this fire between them burn him up.

Long fingers wrapped around his wrists, drew them up. "I must go. I must."

He rubbed their bodies together, tugging at Plum's fingers, testing the hold. "I won't let you."

A fine cord bound him; Plum's hands quicker than he could see. "You will." A shiver of excitement went through him, his cock throbbing.

He brought their mouths back together, taking a kiss, making no attempt to get out of the ropes that bound him. He could sense Plum's confusion, the frustration, the need. Deepening the kiss, he continued to rub against Plum, the ropes keeping him from touching like he wanted.

Plum's lips parted, tongue fighting his, pushing deep and spreading his lips. He wrapped his lips around Plum's tongue, sucking on it, refusing to completely give up control. Plum groaned, hands moving to cradle his head, the kiss going deep and wild.

Yes. Yes, just like that.

Groaning, he leaned into Plum, used the excuse of his hands bound above his head throwing off his balance to press Plum into the wall. He wasn't the only one who felt it. Plum's shaft was hard, burning against his belly, and he arched, rubbing furiously. Corm pressed harder, meeting the passion head on, reveling in it.

He'd never imagined this fire, these flames that poured between them. More intense than the magick, Corm simply reveled in the sensations. He looped his bound hands over Plum's head, and just let go, let the burning kisses and eager rubbing take over. Higher and higher they went together, and his body shook.

Plum dropped suddenly, hands dragging his trousers down, lips dropping over his shaft. The suction was sudden and intense, the heat unbelievable.

"Plum!" It was the first word spoken between them since Plum had bound his hands, and it echoed through the passageway, wrapping around them.

His hips jerked, pushing his prick deeper into Plum's mouth as another sound was torn from his throat.

He'd never felt such heat, such eager need around his cock. Plum's lips tightened around his prick, tugging as that head bobbed.

He whispered softly, a soft light letting him see more, letting him see Plum's swollen lips as they moved on him. The sight sent him over, and with a low moan, he came. Plum swallowed him down, throat working around the tip of his prick. It drew the pleasure out an impossibly long time, had him whimpering softly.

He touched Plum's head, stroking the man's hair awkwardly. The softest kiss brushed the tip of his cock, the golden hair pouring around him.

"Plum..." he seemed to be stuck repeating the thief's name, all his sense stolen.

"Go to bed, wizard. Let me go. Thieves aren't good pets." Plum's eyes were sad, warm.

His own heart sank at the words. This wasn't one-sided, it couldn't be. "You would try to deny what's between us?" Perhaps Plum still believed himself magicked.

"No. I deny nothing." He got a crooked grin, the look honest and charming.

He laughed, utterly hooked. If he didn't know better he'd believe that it was Plum who had magicked him, but he'd done tests, he knew it was not so.

"Then you must stay." Spending time with Plum would be so much more interesting than going to the parties and dinners and lunches he found himself at. All the vapid nobles wanted to talk about was petty magick and sparkly baubles.

"I'm athief ."

"I caught you trying to lift my lodestone -- I'm still not sure why you thought you would be successful at that -- so I am quite aware of your profession, Plum." He smiled down at the man. "I can just imagine the look on the Duchess' face were I to bring you to her soiree on the weekend." She'd have a solid fit. It would be most amusing.

"You were supposed to fall asleep. You like the soup."

Corm chuckled, tickled -- he would have been asleep, if he hadn't missed dinner. Again. "I was a little pre-occupied and didn't eat dinner," he admitted.

"Pre-occupied with what?" Curious little bird.

"A spell." He'd been working on several in fact. Two for the Duchess' soiree -- silly things to amuse her guest, one had nonetheless taxed him. And he’d been waiting...

"Ah. Wizards." Plum winked, the winds blowing suddenly.

He shivered, and murmured a quiet spell, the bindings around his wrists falling away and letting him tuck his prick back into his trousers. He tugged Plum up, bringing their bodies back into contact. "Come back to my room, Plum. Spend a day or two with me and then tell me you still want to leave."

"I." Plum groaned, shaft hard and full against his thigh. "One night."

"It's a start." He slid his hand along Plum's shaft, stroking it through the leggings Plum wore before pushing his hand into them to grasp the hard shaft skin on skin.

"A..." Plum's eyes flashed open, lips parting.

He brought their mouths together, tongue slipping between Plum's lips, tasting himself there, the flavor of Plum there beneath the salty bitterness of his seed.

Plum groaned, pulled away with a wicked grin. "Catch me and you can have me."

"But I already caught you once," he complained. His heartbeat had picked up though, excitement rolling lightly through him at the thought of a chase.

"But you didn't take me." Plum licked his lips and then seemed to disappear, fade into the shadows.

Corm laughed, the adrenaline rushing through his body.

The chase was on. Chapter Two

Magicked.

He simplyhad to be. Plum was aching, burning deep down, the flavor of the wizard's seed still on his tongue.

He zipped through the secret passages, moving as quickly as he could with a heavy, throbbing cock, a need that seemed to beat inside him. He could hear Corm behind him, sometimes from far away, sometimes sounding as if the wizard were right behind him, but so far he'd managed to keep from being caught.

The temptation to stop, to turn and grab the wizard was strong, but he resisted, forcing himself to evade, to run.

The darkness of the passageway slowly gave way to a dim light, and the damp stone seemed suddenly warmer. The kitchens he guessed, coming upon them suddenly, the passageway opening up into a small pantry next to the hearth. It was here that he was caught, the wizard's arms coming around him and stilling his forward momentum.

He gasped, surprised and aroused and caught.

Caught.

He had underestimated Corm.

"I've caught you, thief." Corm's mouth landed on his neck above the collar of his coat, sucking up a mark as the wizard's hands slid over his belly toward his prick.

"Yes." His hips canted, body eager and wanton. "Take me."

"I will," murmured Corm, pushing him over a burlap sack full of grain.

He could feel Corm's need rubbing over his ass as Corm's fingers worked open his leggings. He groaned, thighs tight and aching, hips jerking. "Give me that urn on the shelf by your head. It should be oil." His cloak was pushed up, his leggings pushed down.

"Yes." Plum reached, fingers retrieving the pot easily. By the light of Astra's eyes, he hoped it wouldn't make him smell like a butcher's. Corm grabbed the pot from him and when it was opened it smelled lightly of rosemary and basil. He didn't have very long to contemplate that, before two of Corm's fingers pushed into him, slick and hot. Everything within him went tight, his spine arching. "Wizard!"

"The name is Corm. I think you could use it, considering where my fingers are." The fingers in question wiggled, pushed against his gland, just nudging it.

"C...corm. Corm. There. Corm." That burn flooded him like the waves crashing on the beach of sorrow.

"I like the way that sounds." Corm pushed his fingers in deeper, again and again, hitting his gland.

Deep, needy cries escaped him, pouring out of him in low sobs. "I can't... I need."

Corm's fingers disappeared, blunt, hard heat pressing against his hole. "Ineed ." And with that Corm pushed in, spreading him wide.

"Please!" He arched, lights sparking behind his eyes as he began to jerk, hips rolling furiously, driving himself upon Corm's prick.

Corm's fingers wrapped around his hips, digging in as Corm tugged him even further back, cock buried deep inside him. A second later Corm was pulling out, setting up a hard, fast rhythm. That heat that flared between them threatened to overtake him, Plum's cries ringing out, letting Corm know how he needed.

"Plum. Tight." The words were growled out of Corm, the wizard's fingers tightening on his hips -- he'd be feeling them for days.

"Yes. More." Magick. It had to be.

Corm made a sound and moved faster, harder. The scent of grains and spices disappeared beneath the sweat of their bodies, the musk of their need. His cock ached, needing only the barest touch to send him over the edge. Corm seemed to know, hand wrapping around his prick and squeezing as his gland was nudged.

Plum climaxed so hard that his teeth chattered, the world going white.

The white slowly faded, Corm still pushing into him over and over. Then there was an explosion of heat inside him, Corm collapsing over his back. His arms buckled, both of them panting, moaning low.

Corm slid out, the wizard making a noise that might have been a whimper. Everything within him shivered, shook, the magick lighting him up within and without. Corm seemed to recover quicker, fingers sliding on his skin as they tugged his leggings back up, only a slight tremor in the wizard's fingers betrayed the fact that he was affected.

"Come back to my bedroom, Plum."

"One night." He nodded, swaying, heart pounding in his chest.

"One night to start with." Corm's arm went around his waist and he was drawn out into the kitchen. It was empty and Corm clucked. "You did a good job in disabling my staff."

"I am good at what I do." Corm's seed slid down his thigh.

"At some of what you do. After all, you didn't get what you came for." Corm's hand slid down to fondle his ass. "Or did you?"

"I... My employer did not, that's a surety."

Corm's laughter was sweet, filling the hallway he'd crept along several hours ago.

"My parlor." The door to Corm's rooms was opened for him, Corm escorting him inside. "You remember the way to my bed?"

"I know where it is, even if you'd knocked me for a loop before."

Corm grabbed a bottle and two glasses from a table in his sitting room before joining him in the bedroom. "You like chocolate liqueur?"

"I do." He sat at the windowbox, legs curled up beneath him.

Corm poured two large glasses and gave him one, sitting in the windowbox across from him, their knees touching.

"You look good in my home."

"Do I?" He tugged his blouse closed over the ink on his chest, drinking deep of the sweet liquor.

Corm's eyes lingered on his blouse for a moment, before returning to his face. "Yes. You do."

The mark had been given to him by his master years ago, a sign of the pale remnants of magick he had. "I would hope I looked good wherever I was."

Reaching out, Corm slid warm fingers against his cheek. "I imagine you would at that."

Then Corm took a drink and looked out the window. The question, when it came, was soft. "Why do you wear the mark of my house?"

"I don't."

Corm's head whipped around. "I have eyes."

"It's not your mark."

"It is!" Corm grabbed Plum’s blouse and tugged it open again.

He turned away, hiding the ink. That was his secret, his mark. Proof that he had a hint of magick. "It is a mark from my master. Not your house."

"Your master?"

Plum nodded. "When I was trained, tested."

Corm's eyes narrowed. "You mean as a thief? Who trained you?"

"Aman of the Three Wands." A long, lean man with a hooked nose and a sharp hand.

"What? You lie!" Corm leapt up, paying no attention to his drink as it spilled onto the floor. "When?"

Plum tensed, carefully setting his drink aside. "When I was younger." He had not lied, but he would share no more information. What had he been thinking? When had he become a fool?

"Let me see it." Corm demanded.

"I don't believe I shall." It was, unquestioningly, time to leave.

"Itis the sign of my house. Aman was my grandfather." Corm looked at him intently.

He wasn't sure why that would matter. "Am I supposed to apologize?"

Corm shook his head. "You didn't put the mark on your skin. I suppose it was to shame my father that he gave it to a thief."

"That would make perfect sense." The thought that his master used him to shame another burned within him, but he refused the hurt. He was what he was.

Corm sat again, shaking his head. "I don't understand." One hand reached out to touch him. "How did he know we'd be drawn to each other?"

"I'm sure it was a coincidence." Aman had paid little attention to him, barring the punishments when he erred.

"Perhaps. Let me see it."

"No. It means nothing."

"Then why won't you let me see? Besides, I'll see it when you lie naked and spread out in my bed."

"It's just a design." He hadn't considered baring it. Hella's left tit, he hadn't considered much of anything, barring the heat between them.

"You are a most stubborn and annoying man," Corm informed him shortly.

"Yes." Most annoying. "I should take my leave."

"No!" Corm stood, leaning over him. "Our agreement was that you would stay."

"Why would you want someone stubborn and annoying?"

"Because stubborn and annoying are not boring. I'm tired of simpering idiots, Plum. I want a man I can

talk to, a man I can fight with. Sparks and passion."

Well, they definitely had sparks...

Leaning over him, Corm brought their faces together. "You are a challenge."

He resisted the urge to take a kiss. "What do you want from me, wizard? What is this between us?"

"You tell me what it is. You're the one who came in here to seduce me, using the sorry excuse of trying to steal my touchstone." Corm's words puffed warm air against his face.

"It wasn't an excuse. I was well-paid." In advance.

"Except you didn't actually manage to steal it."

"Not yet."

Corm laughed. "You aren't going to steal my stone." His hand was taken, brought to Corm's crotch. "My stones on the other hand..."

Changeable as the wind. He shook his head, rolling Corm's balls in his hand.

Corm groaned, pressing closer. "You've fine hands."

"They're my bread and butter." He was supposed to be storming out, pouting mightily.

"Show me." Corm put one leg up on the windowbox, legs spread. "Show me."

"Are you sure you want this? Me?" He didn't quite understand. Honestly, he could feel the burn between them, the coals banking but threatening to flame, but it was unnatural. It must be. He whispered a tiny cantrip, phantom hands stroking Corm's body.

"I'm not sure of anything regarding you except forthis ." Corm began to strip for him, stepping back and away again as he pulled the clothes from his body. "I'm sure enough of it, I will bare myself for you. Let you have whatever you like from me in my bed."

"Why would someone want your stone?" He watched Corm bare himself, watched the fine lines of the wizard's body appear.

"Why should I know? You're the thief."

When Corm had disrobed completely, he stood there, head high, letting Plum look his fill.

"I only steal what I'm hired to steal. What would a poxy lowlife need with it?" The man was fine as any courtesan, lean and needy and wanton.

Corm raised his arms up and out to the sides, turning slowly before stopping again in front of him, muscles tight, cock hard. "Plum. I'm naked and yours for the taking. What does it matter?"

He shrugged, stepping forward to touch. It mattered; he simply wasn't sure why it mattered. Corm caught his fingers and took a step back toward the big bed that filled the room. The covers were still awry from when they'd lain there earlier. Corm let go of his hand to turn and push the covers aside, firm ass pointed right at him. He moved close, covering Corm with his body, his dark cloak spilling out on either side of them, blocking out the light.

Corm groaned, knees locking, ass pushing back against him. "I want your skin, Plum. Open your blouse and leggings, man, and let me feel your heat."

He reached down, opened the ties at his waist, let his blouse fall open in the darkness. Corm was a flame against him, smooth and slick. And so responsive. Corm pushed back, rubbing against his chest and crotch like a cat in heat. "I can feel your nipples growing hard for me. Mine are hard, too. Feel."

His fingers slid up, counting ribs before finding one hard little nub, pinching it between his fingertips. Corm gasped and pushed back against him, as if trying to escape the pinch. Then the wizard rubbed their bodies together and breathed deeply, pushing the little nipple into his fingers.

"You cannot decide what you desire, can you?" He nipped sharply on Corm's shoulder, pinching again.

Another gasp sounded, Corm's body rubbing and pulling away, pushing closer and arching. "You make me dizzy. Make me lose my faculties."

"You don't need them here. You're protected, remember?"

"Protected..." Corm murmured, the word fading into soft gasps. The body in his arms writhed and rubbed. "Your leggings! For the love of the Lady, remove them."

He chuckled, nodded against Corm's nape as he pushed them down and off, the silken material of his cloak contrasting with the heat of Corm's skin. The moan that answered him was gratifying, Corm rubbing back against him eagerly.

"More. You set me aflame, Plum."

"Mmmhmm." He pulled the blankets over them, began to lick his way down Corm's spine.

Groaning, Corm danced for him, body arching, delighting in his licks. The long legs were already spread for him, but Corm spread them farther apart. So easy, to forget himself, lick and nuzzle and lap, to move farther beneath the covers.

"Plum!" Corm sounded shocked as he drew near to the small hole, his intentions becoming clear. "No one ever..." The words faded into a sobbing groan.

Then no one dared to teach the wizard about pleasure like he would. His tongue slipped around, tracing the tiny wrinkled hole. Another shout sounded, Corm bucking wildly before settling, ass pushing back in a wordless demand. He kept the touch light, teasing, determined to drive the wizard into madness, into a frenzy.

"Plum... what magick... oh! more... I..." One after another, the words fell from Corm's mouth, none of them following the last; the wizard was quite incoherent. Corm's body was quite clear though, ass rocking back, begging the touches in the prettiest way.

Plum allowed himself to relax, to take a moment to enjoy and touch and taste. The incoherent words continued, as did the rocking, Corm sounding more and more needy with each passing moment.

Finally, the random words settled into one, a soft, desperate sounding chant. "More. More. Plum. More."

He pressed his tongue into the tight hole, touching Corm deep inside, piercing the man. Corm went still, a low keening moan sounding. Carefully he took Corm, tongue pressing in and in, fucking the man as best he could. The stillness didn't last long beneath the onslaught of his tongue, Corm beginning to rock back against him again, ass grasping at his tongue, squeezing it.

He could feel tremors begin to go through Corm's body, making the wizard shiver and shake. He reached between Corm's legs, fingers wrapping around the heavy shaft, fingers sliding over it, pumping with a sure touch. Somehow he knew what Corm needed. Indeed, his touch set Corm off, the wizard's bucking becoming wild as Corm moved between his tongue and his hand.

Shouting, Corm came, ass squeezing his tongue tight as heat shot over his fingers, coating them with Corm's seed.

He brought his fingers back to his lips, lapping his fingers clean.

Corm moaned softly. "I can hear what you're doing."

He nuzzled one smooth cheek, "Are you sure?"

"You're tasting me." Corm's voice was husky. "You're something else, Plum."

"I am simply a thief." He offered that sweet hole one more kiss.

A shiver went through the wizard. "There is nothing simple about you."

If only that were true. Plum sighed and settled, cheek on Corm's back. If only it were true.

***

Corm dozed, Plum in his arms, the two of them buried beneath a pile of blankets. The sun began to creep over the horizon, shining into his bedroom, onto Plum's face. This wasn't how Crom had expected to wake up this morning. Well... he'd hoped for the sex. He'd hoped to have Plum once and get the man out of his system.

He hadn't counted on this... thing between them.

He didn't know what to make of it. Or of the mark of his house left on Plum's skin. Could it be mere coincidence? Or was there something else at work here? The problem worried at him, and he frowned, tongue sliding over his lips.

Plum stretched, the blankets sliding up to cover the man with the barest, most unconscious thought. He reached out, searching for magicks, for some trick in the air that had created the fire of their need.

He could find nothing. Even the mark on Plum's skin was craftsmanship and not magick. Its existence had perhaps drawn his unconscious attention to Plum, but he could not see how it could have in any way done more than that. Plum's muscles rippled under the blanket, the gold hair shining in the sunlight. So pretty. The man was unnaturally fine.

He rolled Plum onto his back, and gently tugged the blankets down, intent on examining the mark in the sunlight. The blankets fought him until he whispered a breath of warmth, then they went limp, Plum sinking deeper into sleep. The mark was beautifully done, as detailed as any crest he'd ever seen painted.

It was all black, but for the shimmering silver that highlighted it here and there, as his family's mark was meant to be. He reached out, tracing it with his fingertips, but he felt nothing more than the smooth heat of Plum's skin.

Plum moaned, his name just breathed out, warming the air. His heart thudded in his chest, and he traced the mark again, paying more attention to the skin he touched this time. The mark seemed alive, the skin soft and supple, the scar just barely raised. Giving in to a sudden impulse, he bent to lick at it, to trace the lines of it with his tongue.

"Oh..." Plum arched, hips digging into the sheets, arms lifting toward the headboard. It felt good, that instant reaction. It was good to know he wasn't the only one who wanted, who needed. He kept licking, the flavor of Plum's skin good on his tongue. "I..." Plum groaned, eyes flying open, hands covering that dark ink.

He nibbled at Plum's fingers, taking one into his mouth and sucking on it, tongue wrapping around the salty flesh. He looked up into Plum's face as he pulled off. "I've seen it now. In the sunlight, no less. You have no reason to hide it from me."

"It's very dark." Yes, against that skin, it was. Beautiful. Staining.

"I like it," he told Plum, wrapping one hand possessively around the man's hip. "It means you belong here. With me."

"It means I'm a thief with a toe in the magick."

"Which toe?" he asked, refusing to let Plum break his good mood. He slid down, pulling the covers with him and grabbed the big toe on Plum's right foot. "This one?"

Plum laughed, chuckled, foot drawing up, exposing the tight little hole. "No. No, not that one."

Crom’s cock throbbed, arousal mingling with the playfulness. He slid his fingers over to wiggle Plum's little toe. "This one, then?" he asked, as his other hand slid up along the inside of Plum's leg.

Plum's laughter grew, the thief's eyes dancing. "No, no I don't believe so..."

Grinning, he stopped his questing hand just shy of the place where Plum's thigh met his ass, rubbing and teasing, as he tugged on the middle toe of Plum's right foot. "This one, then."

"You've found me out." Plum groaned, tilting toward the touch.

He tugged on Plum's toe, and tickled the underside, but most of his attention was on the soft skin he was teasing with his other hand. And a moment later, he let Plum's foot go, mouth sliding up the path his fingers had taken on their way up the inside of Plum's leg.

"Such heat." Plum shivered, legs spreading, slow and sweet, letting him in.

Plum felt that fire between them as well. That made it more real. He licked and nibbled, teasing the soft skin. Warm and fragrant, it had him breathing in deeply, tongue teasing beneath Plum's balls, teasing further back.

"You... You don't have to, Corm."

He raised his head. He could still feel Plum's tongue inside him, his own hole squeezing tight at the memory. "Don't you want it?"

"Yes..." Plum's eyes closed, lips parted. "I want, but I would not force you."

Corm chuckled. "That toe of yours isn'tthat powerful, Plum."

Plum stilled, then those eyes popped open, the laughter bright and fine. Still grinning, he dove in, licking experimentally across Plum's hole. The little ring of skin was heated and shifted under his tongue. He licked again, the taste of Plum stronger, but still good. Moaning, he pressed his face closer and licked once more.

That earned him a deep, low groan, Plum spreading as those legs drew up. He knew how this felt, knew how good it was. He lapped and lapped, eager to share how Plum had made him feel. Plum's cries rang out, the man moving faster and faster under his tongue. He slid his thumb into his mouth, and then pushed

it into Plum's body. That hole jerked, squeezing him tight, the need obvious and so sweet.

He rubbed with his thumb, and fucked with his tongue, his own cock hard, throbbing every time Plum called out with pleasure or tightened around him. It was so good. Plum's magick buzzed over his skin, down his spine, the sensation odd and wild.

His cock throbbed, and he went to his knees, kissing his way up Plum's back. "I want you." He rubbed the head of his prick over Plum's hole.

"Yes." Plum nodded, hips rocking, rolling back against him.

He whispered a small spell to ease the way, and pushed into Plum, the tight heat all but pulling him in.

"Corm..." His name in that voice suited him down to the bone.

"Right here." His prick nudged against Plum's gland. By the lady's veil, how could this be so good?

"More." The fire seemed to flare right between him, the pressure around his prick perfect.

"Yes." He pulled his hips back, and then pushed in again, going slowly the first time, but quickly picking up speed.

They found a rhythm, Plum's cries driving them both. He'd had other lovers, but no one had filled him with this fire, with the pleasure that came along with it. He murmured Plum's name, whispered secrets, lost himself in their bodies. Plum grabbed one of his hands, brought it to that kiss-swollen mouth, tongue sliding over his skin.

Groaning, he moved faster, hips sawing wildly as the sensations crashed over him. He could feel Plum's body respond, feel the heat and pressure all around him. He reached around Plum's body, hard prick all but leaping into his hand. Moaning, he wrapped his fingers around it, tugging as he thrust, feeling Plum's response in his own cock.

"Yes. Yes, please. I need." Plum's head tossed, golden hair catching the light.

"I know." He knew and he felt it, too, felt that need to make it last forever, but to come now as well.

Groaning, he slid his fingers along Plum's cock, pushing in over and over. Plum whimpered, cock throbbing, full in his palm. The heat and the silk of it felt amazing, almost as good as the tightness and heat

of Plum's ass around his cock. He could feel the way Plum shifted and shuddered around him, the way Plum clenched around him.

"Yes! Yes, Plum. Give it to me. I want it." He tightened his grip around Plum's cock.

Heat sprayed over his fingers, Plum's muscles fluttering around his cock. It was just what he needed, his hips jerking, pushing his prick into Plum in short, hard strokes. Groaning, he let Plum's body milk his orgasm right out of him.

The thief slumped to the bed, shoulders shaking as he panted. He followed Plum down, groaning as his cock slipped out. He pressed a kiss to Plum's shoulder, tongue sliding out to lap at the salt on the man's skin. "This could become habit forming, thief."

"Only if you manage to capture me again and again..."

"You'd still run, Plum?" Disappointment went through him.

"Isn't that what you need from me? The chase? Excitement?"

"You think that's all this is?" He supposed he couldn't blame the man, it had, after all, been true at first. Before he'd actually come face to face with the thief.

"I don't know what this is. You're the wizard. What do you think?"

He slid off Plum's back and curled around the man instead. "It's not magick, Plum. Not trickery." He supposed knowing what it was not was better than not knowing at all.

"Not trickery." Plum leaned into him, heart beating against his chest.

"No, I'd know if it was." He touched Plum's mark, but it was just a mark, no magick in it at all, only warm skin. Plum's belly went tight, the muscles sliding under his touch.

"What does this mean to you?" he asked, fingers tracing it once and then sliding down to wrap around Plum's hip.

"It's my master's mark. It means..." Plum's voice trailed off, the lean body tense. "Nothing."

He snorted. "Nothing. Right." He rolled Plum onto his back, hands holding Plum's arms down. "Tell me."

Plum's cock jerked, those eyes flashing. "Make me."

"You'd like that, would you?" A thrill went down his spine at the thought of tying Plum to his bed and torturing the man. There were ropes on the drapes at the window...

Plum bared his teeth, started struggling, but that cock filled, swelled, the lean cheeks flushing dark. Plum's excitement spurred his own and he whispered an immobilization spell, which might have been cheating, but he didn't really care, and then he sped over to the window, tugging the ropes free of the drapery.

"Wizard! Let me go!" That long, thin cock slapped Plum's belly.

Corm chuckled as he came back, excitement coursing through him as he straddled Plum's thighs and leaned up to tie his arms to the bedposts. Their cocks rubbed together as he leaned up over Plum to reach.

"Let me go." Plum's body and mouth were not speaking the same language at all.

He let go of the spell that had been holding Plum to the bed. Not that it mattered anymore, the ropes were good and tight. "I will. Once you've told me what this means to you." He traced the dark lines of his family crest on Plum's chest.

"I told you. Nothing." Plum's nipples went tight, the peaks sweet and firm.

"You lie." He veered away from his tracing, flicking his fingers across the hard little nubs, and then squeezing them lightly.

"I do not..." Plum arched up toward his touch, hips jerking.

"You do," he insisted, rolling to rub their cocks together. His prick slid along Plum's, the heat burning hot against his skin.

"No... They're just a mark of shame..."

"What?" He sat back up, hands coming off Plum's body like he'd been burned. How couldhis family

crest, inked into Plum's skin by his grandfather, be a mark of shame?

"That's what he told me. My shame because my magick was lacking, worthless." The ropes worked free, Plum slipping from under him to grab the black cloak, hide beneath it. "Only an echo, a shadow."

Anger surged through Corm at that. "We don't all have the magick in us. The shame wasn't yours if he didn't know that when he took you on!"

Plum didn't answer, simply moved around the room, gathering his clothes, dressing quickly and quiet. By Alna's tit -- they were back to this? Growling, he went to Plum and grabbed his arms, shaking the man. "Why do you keep trying to run away from me?"

"Because you're under myskin !"

"Running away isn't going to get rid of me." But maybe it was time to let Plum go. He was fairly confident the man would be back, Plum wouldn't be able to help himself, any more than he'd be able to stop himself from keeping tabs on the man while he was gone.

"It has to." Plum came up to him, kissed him until his knees buckled. "But I have to go avoid a man who wants your stone."

"You can avoid him here," Corm pointed out, hand reaching back to steady himself against his bed.

"He could come here for you." Plum was drawn, eyes fastened to him.

"You've already discovered how safe I am in my own home, Plum." He reached out, pushing the cloak off one of Plum's shoulders, baring the fine skin.

"Who are you?" The words were groaned, Plum moving toward his touch.

"Yours," he said, repeating his answer from before. He had no other way to say it.

"Mine." Plum groaned, cheeks flushing dark.

"You see?" He tugged Plum close, pressing their mouths together, opening his lips and offering himself to Plum.

"Yes." Plum's tongue pushed into his lips, fucking his mouth most passionately.

He grabbed hold of Plum's ass and held on tight. Plum pushed him down upon the bed, holding him, almost clinging to him. He wrapped his ankle around the back of Plum's legs, holding him tighter. Plum's eyes were filled with wildness, fear. A desperation. Hunger.

They humped like wild animals, instinct and need driving them, slapping their bodies together. The heat and noise of it were intoxicating, the sensation rolling through him even more so. And the sight of Plum moving with abandon above him was almost enough to make him spend yet again.

He dug his fingers into Plum's ass, barely holding onto his control, but determined to drag Plum into the depths of pleasure with him. That connection between them seemed to deepen, to twist and dig deeply within him, and he guessed Plum felt it as well. Deep, desperate cries began ringing out, echoing in his room.

There was a magick at work here, but it didn'tbelong to anyone, it didn't hold his own flavor, nor Plum's, as if the magick controlled itself. Controlled them. Corm gave himself over to it, and to Plum, body and heart. Plum accepted him, took his energy in and held him, as if he was a treasure, a precious jewel.

He exploded in a rush, his seed pumping out of him and spreading between them as pleasure, and Plum, held him tight. "Plum," he whispered. "My Plum. Mine."

"Corm..." Plum nodded, moaning for him.

He held on with his arms and his legs, Plum's weight and warmth so good. "Say you'll stay, Plum. You belong to me. With me." He shrugged. "They are the same."

"How could I have come to you, searching for your focus, and become your own?"

"The magick willed it." He was sure of that now, had felt the power that he wielded moving of its own volition through him and Plum. He wasn't sure if that explained his initial attraction, and certainly Plum's being here to steal the stone had been his own doing, but this... bond between them. That was pure.

"The magick wills it." The words seemed heavy with portent, Plum heated against him.

"Yes." He slid his finger over Plum's lips, the sensation going through him at the touch almost electric. "You can feel it."

Plum dragged his hand down, placing his fingers against the dark ink, the silver seeming to flare and color at his touch.

"Yes," he said again. "But this magick is not colored by my grandfather. I think he was compelled to leave the mark on you and made an excuse to do so." He slid his hand down, the colors in Plum's skin seeming to shift and swirl, responding to him, to his fingers. "Can you feel that?" he asked. "Is it good?" Surely Plum would stay now -- he could not deny this.

"Yes..." Plum arched, entire body rippling, reaching for him.

He closed his eyes, reaching for the magick. It was there, inside Plum, inside himself, and around them both.

He could get lost in this. Perhaps he already was.

Chapter Three

Plum wandered the halls of the wizard's keep, humming some long-forgotten song that his wet nurse had sung to him. The last days had been bliss, filled with magick and food and sweet lovemaking. He was filled with a peace that he never expected to know, to come to expect.

He was no longer a prisoner, but he hadn't felt the urge to explore outside. There were so many rooms to explore, so many things to see. To learn.

To poke about in.

There were voices down a stairway and Plum crept, the instinctive habit of silence falling over him.

"We agreed on twenty five." Corm sounded annoyed, his voice cold, dismissive.

Plum frowned, moving faster, curious as to who Corm would do business with so poorly.

"You did not say I would have to wait, master wizard."

He stopped short, head tilting. He knew that voice.

"Don't be greedy. I could just as easily not pay you and wipe this whole business from your memory, but I am an honorable man. Take your money and go."

Plum opened his mouth to explain that Creos was untrustworthy at best, dangerous at worst, when the man spoke again. "I brought the thief into your home, as you asked. He is yours now. Pay me."

"Honestly, wizard. I was only worth a mere twenty five? You caught a deal, I think." Plum stepped from the shadows, keeping his voice light, schooling his face to hide his agony. He was a fool, purchased or not.

"Plum! It isn't what you think." Corm touched his arm. "Let me get rid of this man and explain."

"Of course it isn't what I thought." He'd thought he'd come home, somehow. "Do your business, wizard. You've a scoundrel waiting at your door."

He slipped away, heading for the stairs. Thrice-cursed Augla, what if he hadn't heard? What if he'd believed this nonsense? A wizard bound to him for all time. Loving him.

He wasn't even sure where he was going, but he didn't get very far before he heard Corm's footsteps coming after him. The ink on his chest burned and his fingers tore at it through his blouse.

Corm's hand wrapped around his arm and turned him around. "I thought you'd finally stopped running away from me."

"I thought you..." He clamped his lips shut. Enough. He had shared enough. He had paid well enough for entering this house. "It matters not at all. Is your business concluded?"

"It is and we need never speak of it again." Corm's free hand came up to cup his cheek.

Plum shuddered, stepped away, the ink on his skin aflame. "If our business is concluded, I should take my leave."

Corm followed him, his frown making lines in his forehead. "You and I have no business, and you will not leave."

"This has all been business, hasn't it? Did you arrange this?"

"No! Notthis ." Corm's hand landed on his chest, palm over the tattoo through his shirt. "I never expected this."

"What did you expect? What did you want from me?" Hurt. He hurt, deep in his bones, but that damned touch stopped the burning. Lying magicked bastard.

"I wanted you out of my system!" Grabbing him with both hands, Corm dragged him close. "I saw you at Lord Salson's party, pocketing pretties and I had to have you, to taste you."

"And now that you have? Was I worth your twenty-five pieces?"

"I was supposed to get this petty thief out of my system, Plum. Instead I found... a soul mate. I could no more put a price on your head than I could let you leave."

"You." Soul mate. No. No, he'd been deceived. "Do you always trick those you wish to bed?"

Corm snorted. "Would you have come to my bed if I'd asked, thief?"

He looked at the wizard, at the fine way the man was put together. "I'm no stranger to lovemaking. We could have become lovers."

"We have become lovers, Plum." Corm's mouth descended down onto his.

He responded to the kiss for a heartbeat before he remembered that he'd been taken, fooled, and he jerked away. "We are not lovers. I am a thief. You are a wizard. Our business is concluded." The last words caused the pain in his chest to flare and his knees buckled. "You magicked me..."

"I did nothing of the sort!" Corm caught him as he fell, pulling him against Corm's body. "I was as caught off guard as you were. I never expected love."

"Love..." The heat in his chest flared, near overwhelming him, his heart pounding. "You..." The wizard must be lying. Must be.

"What do you think we've been doing the last days? Do you think I've been pretending? That I've been faking how I feel?" Corm glared at him, as if he were the one who had wronged Corm and not the other way around.

"How would I know? How could I know whether you felt as I did..."

"Not felt, Plum.Feel ." Corm shook him. "You cannot just turn it off. I know you still feel it. You cannot hide from it."

"I hurt." That was what he felt. Hurt.

Corm's face fell. "I never wanted to hurt you, Plum."

"I wanted to believe I had come home."

"But you have, Plum. No matter how you came to be here, you are home, you are mine." Corm cupped his cheek, thumb sliding across his lower lip. "Mine."

His eyes closed, the burn easing. "Tell me again how you came across me."

"It was Lord Salson's party. You were using a very thin invisibility spell. I saw right through it. I saw you."

"You saw me. You didn't raise any alarm. Why?"

"It was a thin enough glamour -- if they could not see you through it, then why should I help them?" Corm shrugged, stroked his chest through his blouse. "And as I said, I wanted you myself. I could hardly have worked you out of my system if you were imprisoned." Corm's lips closed over his for a moment. "And now I am doubly glad I did not raise any alarm -- I would have lost this and it is far more precious than any roll in the blankets."

"Worth twenty-five pieces?" That touch eased him, deep down. Soothed him.

"I would have paid far more to get you here. And that was before I knew what truly lay between us." Corm gave him a sudden grin. "But the scoundrel I used to set you up didn't need to know that."

The temptation to return that smile was huge and he fought against it. "I'm still vexed with you."

Corm pouted at him. "At me? But I brought us together."

"You should have told me before now. I would stand on equal footing in this or I will not stand at all."

"I was worried you'd react..." Corm gave him a pointed look. "Badly."

"I will be your partner, not your thief."

Corm cupped his cheek, thumb stroking over his lips as the dark eyes searched his. "You are my soulmate, Plum."

"And what does that mean?" The pain within him eased, dissipated as he lapped the tip of Corm's fingers.

Corm watched his tongue, eyes following each motion. "It um... means that we are joined deeper than just bodies."

"How much deeper?" The flavor of Corm pleased him.

"I don't know, Plum! As deep as it can go. We're joined. All of us."

"All of who?" His eyes closed and he began to suck, each pull soothing him.

"You and me, Plum. You're not paying attention." Corm's voice had gone thick, and the wizard pressed him up against the wall, hips rubbing against his.

"Hmm?" Warm. Better. Almost good.

"Just keep sucking," murmured Corm, fingers pushing in and out of his mouth.

Plum nodded, licking and lapping Corm's fingertips. His. His wizard. His lover.

One of the maids came around a corner and stopped, making a soft noise before turning and heading back the way she'd come. Corm chuckled and licked at his lips, at his tongue whenever it slid over Corm's fingers.

Plum looked into Corm's eyes, letting Corm's fingers go. "You will let your people know that I belong here? With you?"

"They already know, Plum. Has anyone asked you to leave or what you're doing here? No. Because

they know." Corm's eyes were warm, fingers sliding wetly across his cheek.

"I'm trying to be angry with you." Corm was not cooperating.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Corm leaned in to nibble at his ear.

"I..." Plum frowned, focus lost. "What?" Magicked. That was the only answer.

"Nothing. Just kiss me. Make love to me."

"Are there more secrets between us? About us?" He had secrets of his own, to be sure, but none that involved Corm.

Corm shook his head. "No secrets, Plum. Though I cannot speak for the magick."

He leaned in, groaned as the pleasure within him blazed. "This is not wise..."

"No? It seems like the wisest thing on earth to me, Plum. Necessary." Corm's fingers wrapped around his blouse and tugged him even closer, their mouths a mere breath apart.

"Necessary." Yes. Necessary. Happy. Home.

"Mmmhmm." Corm's tongue traced his lips, fingers sliding beneath his blouse to touch the tattoo.

Plum arched, entire body undulating as a sharp pleasure flooded him. His cock leaked, wetting his belly, his trousers.

"Bed," growled Corm. "I want you to bend me over it."

"You are altogether too demanding, wizard." He pushed into a sharp, hungry kiss.

"You love it," Corm told him when their lips parted on a pair of gasps.

Corm stumbled backward, drawing him down the hall toward the bedroom he was growing more and more familiar with. In fact, the room was beginning to become theirs -- his scent was there, his cloak on the peg, his purse on the little table.

Corm whispered and waved a hand, magick sealing the room. He could feel it moving through him, tingling as if he had been involved in making the spell.

"Now the maid won't try to remove us." As she had the day before, coming in and tutting, insisting on making the bed and shooing them to breakfast.

"Mmmhmm. You evil wizard, terrifying your servants." He hid the laughter. These people were well-cared for, spoiled.

"I have a reputation to maintain, Plum." Corm grabbed a vial of oil pushing it into his hands. "Though I fear it’s ruined as far as you're concerned."

"Your reputation? As a wanton?"

"You see? You already know the truth." Corm took his mouth, tongue pushing in as Corm dragged him to the bed.

He pulled away from the kiss, turning Corm and pushing him down over the footboard, the wood pressing into that fine belly. Then he stepped close, fingers tugging off Corm's trousers. As soon as the trousers were off, Corm's legs spread for him, his wizard eager for him. The sweetest, wanton moan came from Corm.

"I want to watch you touch yourself, slick yourself for me."

A shudder moved through Corm. "Plum..." His lover turned to look at him, eyes heated. Then Corm reached out, fingers trembling just slightly.

He leaned down, kissed the small of Corm's back. "Let me see."

Corm nodded. "Oil my fingers, love. I do not believe I can do so myself." Corm's voice was thick, and he licked his lips.

"Call me love again." He uncorked the oil, slicked the long fingers.

Corm moaned, fingers sliding with his for a moment. "Love," Corm said softly, fingers sliding away from his, gleaming in the light from the window.

"Yes. Love." He kissed one buttock, then the other.

Groaning, Corm twisted and rubbed his hole with a slick finger. Then he slowly pushed two inside. "Is this what you wanted to see, love?"

"Yes. Show me." His finger slid in alongside Corm's. Show him.

"Plum!" Corm jerked, body pushing back against his fingers. Another low groan came from Corm, and the wizard moved his fingers in and out. They slid slickly against his own, everything slippery and wet and hot.

"Beautiful." He kissed along the thin spine, licking and nuzzling, adding another of his fingers to the touch.

Corm gasped loudly, whole body going tight for a moment before opening to him, trusting him. "So full, Plum."

"Mmm. My cock now. I want to feel you all around me."

"Oh, please. Yes." Corm's fingers slid away, his ass pushing back in blatant invitation. His cock slid in, spreading Corm wide as he buried himself deep. Heat. Such heat. He needed. Corm cried out, ass squeezing him tight. "More."

Plum pulled almost completely out of Corm's body, then pushed back in to the root. Corm's back bowed, another cry sounding.

"You are mine as I am yours." He slammed in again, burying himself inside that perfect heat.

"Yes! Yes, Plum." Corm's arms spread to the sides, fingers curling around the wood of the footboard.

He nodded, hips rocking, driving his cock into his wizard, into his lover. Corm began to meet his thrusts, rocking back against him. There was a soft sound, a moan, a groan, a whimper, to match each slap of their flesh.

"My love..." The words escaped him, slipped from him.

"Yes, yours." Corm shifted slightly, and shouted out. "There, Plum!" There. He closed his eyes, focusing on the motion, pegging Corm over and over. "Plum! Yes! Yes!" With each thrust Corm shouted, voice

growing hoarse as they came together with more and more force.

"Come for me. Show me. Please." He leaned, kissed Corm's shoulder. "Please."

"For you." Corm shuddered and squeezed him tight, seed splashing against the footboard in long pulses.

"Love." He nearly sobbed, but the pleasure was too good, too much and he was caught in it.

"Come in me," Corm begged. "Mark me inside."

Seed pulsed from him in waves, Plum's world going white-bright and sparkly about the edges. Corm worked his ass, squeezing around him, making the pleasure continue on.

"Mmm... such heat, love."

"Yes." He nodded, leaned against Corm's shoulder. "Yes."

Heat. Love. He was caught.

Corm reached back to pat whatever he could reach, so much magick in those fingers as they slid over his hip. None of it was usedon him, though. He had not been trapped by Corm, even if he had been lured.

"Love." He kissed Corm's shoulder, once more.

"Yes, Plum. Yours. Now let me up -- the footboard is digging into my belly and I want to hold you while we lie abed like slugs."

Plum laughed, tickled through, and swatted Corm on the backside as he pulled away. "Ridiculous wizard. Whatever shall I do with you?"

Corm mock-yelped, and turned, grabbing his hands. They were each brought to Corm's mouth and given a kiss. "Keep me, of course."

"Of course, given you are the one who stole me."

Corm's eyes grew serious. "I'm wish I could say I was sorry I deceived you, but given the results, I cannot."

"And would you do it again?"

Corm's fingers slid over his face, tracing his features. "Yes, my Plum. I would do whatever I must to bring us together."

"As long as you will keep us together." He kissed Corm's thumb, allowing the magick to take its course.

"Always, love."

Corm's free hand looped around his waist and drew him close. He rested his cheek against Corm's shoulder. Like a moth to a flame, Corm's fingers slid beneath his shirt, tracing the mark on his chest, making it tingle.

Magick.

He whispered a cantrip, letting the wind blow, caressing Corm's cheek.

"Mmm... your magick is stronger, Plum."

"Is it?" He tried again, the candles around the room lighting up.

"It is -- I can feel it as well as see the results." Corm waved his fingers and the wicks burned higher, brighter. Another wave and they faded back to normal. "As is mine."

He chuckled, unfastening Corm's blouse buttons with a thought. "Perhaps I was holding back. One never knows."

"Cynic," Corm accused.

"Romantic." Two could play that game.

A wicked smile danced at the corners of Corm's mouth. "Thief."

"Wizard."

"Yours," Corm countered, feet guiding them around to the side of the bed.

"Mine." He slipped his shoes off, sighing with the warmth of the bedding. "Yours."

"Yes." Corm whispered something and a lily, purple so dark it was almost black, appeared in his hand. "For you."

He held his arms open and nodded. "Yes."

Epilogue

Lady Arnasi's parties were a must-attend for anyone who was anyone, second only to the Duchess’. Corm, unfortunately, was counted among that number. He far preferred the coarser parties thrown by Plum's acquaintances and friends, but he dutifully put in attendance at these soirees.

With Plum on his arm of course. There were still occasional scandalized looks thrown their way, but no one would dare say anything. Especially as in the last few years, Corm's power had grown. What the nobles and royals didn't know was that he was more powerful now because of Plum. The magick worked through both of them with far more power than it ever had through him alone. It was quite intoxicating really.

Arnasi's ballroom glittered and shone, and her banquet table groaned under a huge selection. Corm wandered slowly from group to group, listening more than he spoke -- he and Plum would compare gossip, a prize going to the one with the juiciest news. Speaking of Plum... he looked about for his lover, wondering what mischief his thief was up to this evening. Plum never failed to provide some entertainment for the two of them.

Plum was dancing with a ghastly man, florid and horrid, groping at his lover.

"I beg your pardon Lord Delacroix?" The Robins' girl was looking at him with alarm, and Corm realized he'd been growling.

He gave her a bow. "I'm sorry, my Lady. There is something to which I must attend." He magicked a rose from thin air, presenting it to her with a flourish.

"Oh! How wonderful!" She clapped, his growling forgotten.

Unfortunately, her enthusiasm drew others and Corm wasted several moments producing more roses. He finally bowed away from the group and headed toward the dancing couples, searching for his lover and the interloper.

The air about Plum near crackled with dangerous energy. His lover was losing grip on that flash-point temper. He could feel the magick building, readying for Plum and he hurried over, tapping the vapid lord on the shoulder before the man was turned into a toad. "Excuse me, but I was promised a dance."

"You wan' dance with me?" Oh, dear. The air nearly crackled.

Corm managed to keep his laughter inside. "Actually, while I'm sure that would be delightful, I want to cut in on you and dance with your partner."

Plum's hand slid into his, the lovely eyes sparkling as he was nearly dragged into the crowd. "These things were more fun when I was working."

He did laugh then, stopping Plum to take a hard kiss. "We could make our own fun, love."

"We usually do, wizard." The term was affectionate now, not a criticism.

He could see Aransi barreling toward them, so he took Plum into his arms and began to dance back toward the middle of the dance floor. "What tickles your fancy tonight, Plum? Fireworks indoors? Rats afoot?"

"Spirits coming up from the floorboards."

"You'll give them all heart attacks, love. It'll be the talk of the town for weeks!" He grinned. He'd been right all that time ago, when he'd seen Plum and wanted him. He'd known Plum could relieve his boredom, his malaise. He just hadn't known it would be a lifelong joining and that he would love his thief more than his own life. Or that the magick would make them far more than the sum of their parts.

"We are always the talk of the town, wizard. You fascinate the masses."

"Me? I believe it is you who fascinate them, love." Almost as much as Plum fascinatedhim .

"Nonsense." They swung around, Plum's golden hair catching the light.

"Not at all. You shine, love, brighter than anything else at this party." It was that light that had originally caught him, when he'd first seen Plum stealing from these very people.

"Only to distract them from our play." Plum's lips brushed his ear.

His breath caught in his throat, the passion between them flaring hotly as it always did. "Then let us cause our mischief and go, love. I want you."

"You have me, wizard."

And who would ever have thought that was all he needed in the world? He certainly wouldn't have. But the magick that had held him close since he was born knew, and had taken care of this as it did all things.

"And I shall keep you."

For an eternity.

end The Wizard and the Thief

Copyright © 2006 by Sean Michael

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Torquere Press, Inc.: Single Shot electronic edition / January 2007

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