Initiation
“What were you doing here in the first place?” Bentley asked as he helped Mark out of his shirt so he could examine the damage.
“James called me.”
“James?” Bentley looked up at the other man not trying to hide his surprise. “You mean James Lester?”
“We’ve been friends for ages.”
“Well, he has a funny way of showing it,” Bentley frowned at the angry slash wound across Mark’s chest. “Could’ve been worse, though.”
“Good to know,” Mark hissed at the sharp sting of antiseptic against his flesh but Bentley’s firm grip stopped him from moving away.
“So why did he call you?”
“Apparently some journalist caught wind of something fishy going on. James hoped I could intimidate him with some well-aimed lawyer-jargon.”
“Praise the Lord, now it’s bloodsuckers too,” Bentley shook his head as he reached for the bandages. “Then again, considering the size of all this I’d say it’s a miracle it didn’t happen earlier.”
“And that big building of yours is quite in the public eye too, if you ask me.”
“Don’t blame me. Nick, our resident professor with a God-complex, wouldn’t accept anything less… dramatic. I mean, it’s not like we’re about to house a mammoth there in the near future.”
Mark let out a short laugh but it soon died in his throat at the medic’s closeness as the bandages were fastened on his chest. Bentley’s long fingers briefly brushed against his skin one last time before they pulled away completely.
“You’ll live,” Bentley announced with a smile that Mark couldn’t quite match, too lost in the other man’s eyes. Bentley’s smile only grew wider at that and his long, warm fingers returned to Mark’s shivering skin.
The silence grew with every passing second and every fading inch between their bodies until their lips almost touched. An impossibly long moment of suspense passed before they finally leaned in, first tentatively, exploring each other gently like a faint possibility but then the kiss turned deeper, more passionate and Mark couldn’t stifle a small, silent moan. He reached out, wanting to feel the soft skin of the other man’s neck but the thin wedding ring on his finger flashed in the sunlight and Bentley immediately broke away.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“Don’t,” Mark grabbed his arm, a pleading look on his face. “Please.”
Bentley sighed and pressed his lips firmly against Mark’s but didn’t let it turn into a kiss.
“You’ll fit in quite well,” he whispered against Mark’s lips with a small smile and slowly pulled away. Mark stifled a deep sigh and put his bloodied shirt back on. He didn’t look at Bentley as he was buttoning his shirt but he couldn’t help turning back before he left, hands wet against the doorknob.
“I’m Mark Andrews, by the way.”
The other man looked at him, eyebrows raised in amusement.
“I usually go by Bentley,” he said finally. “But I prefer Maurice.”
“I suppose we’ll be seeing more of each other in the future, Maurice,” Mark smiled and stepped out of the room into the large hall, where a bunch of soldiers were still questioning a rather annoyed, blond man about the explosion earlier.
Complete insanity, Mark shook his head and dialled Lester’s number.
“You’re not going to quit this soon, Mark, not even if half of your head is missing.”
Mark laughed at the familiar voice as he stepped out of the hotel into the warm sunlight. The kiss was still fresh on his lips, warmer than the sun’s heat, and he could have sworn Lester noticed the hot anticipation in his voice as he spoke.
“Don’t worry, James, I’m staying.”