Klaus hung his dress uniform up on the back of the bathroom door. It was clean and pressed and ready for him to wear tomorrow when he had to give his sworn testimony as part of General Bayden’s court martial. Court martialing a General was serious business, and the case had garnered a great deal of attention. Ever since Dorian’s man had infiltrated the JAG offices in Germany to plant a flash drive with a copy of the Madam’s customer list on an ambitious Lieutenant’s desk, quite a few people in high places had been very unhappy. He and Dorian had been in hiding ever since because the General had many loyal men who would like nothing more than for Klaus to disappear, permanently. The threat had gotten serious enough that even his Chief was willing to waive any AWOL or desertion allegations that might have been levied against him in lieu of him being able to make it back to his post alive.
In situations like this it was very nice to have a Mafia don on their side. Signore Volovolonte had been most helpful in providing safe haven and protection for him and the thief while they waited for JAG’s case to proceed. Not that the Don minded having leverage over a few high profile people who had publically extolled their virtues but had somehow found their names on the Madam’s list. No, Volovolonte was gleeful, almost scarily so, and he gladly gave him and Dorian anything they’d needed.
He and Dorian had spent the last several weeks moving from safe house to safe house, always staying one step ahead of their pursuers, crossing borders and continents. It turned out that Volovolonte and the thief had several contacts in countries not part of NATO, so General Bayden had been unable to use NATO resources to flush them out. Unfortunately, the desperate man had tried to use hired mercenaries instead. That had not gone well, but it had proved to him that he was just as good a shot as he had been before his “accident.”
He didn’t like killing as a general rule, but if it came down to him or someone else, he liked himself better, and he’d take the shot if not given any choice. Dorian, on the other hand, had proved to be even more ruthless than he was when it came to protective instincts, and he’d further shattered Klaus’s already cracked image if him as a harmless fop. The man might be horrible with a firearm, but he was wicked deadly with a blade, and he threw knives without remorse or mercy.
“How many men have you killed?” Klaus had asked one night after they had been ambushed by a pair of dishonorably discharged former Marines in Tunisia.
It had been close; a bullet had hit the wall right behind Klaus’s head, and Dorian had thrown a dagger so fast and sure that it had lodged in the mercenary’s throat, severing the carotid artery. Afterwards, the thief had been rattled – not by the ex-soldiers’ deaths, but by how close Klaus had come to being shot, and he’d reacted by being particularly clingy and attentive that night when they’d retired.
“Every man who’s tried to rape me after the first,” Dorian had replied, his blue eyes dark and haunted.
“You’ve been raped?” he’d questioned softly. If the Earl had been a victim, too, then much of his actions were explained.
“Yes, a long time ago.”
“How old were you?” he’d demanded, shocked and appalled.
“Thirteen.”
He’d gasped, his eyes opening wide, and he’d stared at the man who’d gazed calmly back.
“Thirteen!” he’d blurted. “You were… you were raped by a… a pedophile?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Dorian had answered.
“In a manner…? What do you mean?”
The Earl had sighed and rolled to his back, one hand behind his head. “I mean… Do you really want to hear this, Major? I’ll tell you, but you might think less of me when I do.”
“That is not possible,” he’d assured the thief.
“Why? Because you already think so poorly of me?” Dorian had said teasingly, but there had been an old pain in his eyes.
“Nein. You know that’s not what I meant,” he’d corrected, stung by the Earl’s words – mostly because not so long ago they’d been true.
Dorian had smiled contritely and patted his hand. “I know, my dear, I’m sorry. Old habits, you know. Forgive me?”
“Bah! You don’t need my forgiveness. I’ve said much worse things to you.”
“True, but I never took them seriously,” the Earl had admitted with a wink.
“You didn’t?” he’d pressed, rolling to his side so he could pin the thief with his “interrogator’s glare.”
Dorian withstood the scrutiny for a few moments before he looked away. “Well, perhaps I did take them to heart a little bit.”
“Ah. I thought so. Lord Gloria, I am sorry.”
“No apologies necessary, my dear Major. I know you don’t think that way of me now.”
“Nein, I don’t. So you can tell me… about this man who raped you in a manner of speaking.”
The Earl had looked thoughtful and had reached up a hand to play with his hair, a clear sign that he was uncomfortable.
“He was a friend of my father’s, and he had a painting I wanted.”
“A painting?” he’d repeated.
“Yes. A Giorgione. The Young Shepherd. Father and I were moving away. He’d had to sell the castle in North Downs to pay for my mother and sisters in the divorce, so we were moving to a smaller place he could afford.”
“The castle I was at that time?”
“Yes. I bought it back with the money from my first big heist. Father lived long enough to know it was back in the family. I was glad of that,” Dorian had explained with some pride.
“But when you were thirteen, you had to move away,” he’d stated, bringing them back on point.
“Yes, and I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to visit Lord Price’s house and see the Young Shepherd anymore.”
“Lord Price? So he was…”
“He was a good friend of my father’s. I would spend many hours at his house, admiring his paintings. He knew I wanted the Giorgione so he made me a deal…”
Klaus had frowned, rage boiling just under the surface, but he’d kept it in check.
“He offered you the painting if you would have sex with him.”
Dorian had winced and flinched away slightly. “Yes,” he’d confirmed. “He said he would give me the painting for my birthday if I slept with him, but after I did it, he sent me a forgery instead of the real thing.”
“So he raped you and cheated you.”
“It was the first time I’d learned the viciousness of adults, and I’ve never let a man use me like that since.”
He’d been unable to hold in the growl that rumbled low in his throat, and his obvious fury had made Dorian smile softly.
“You don’t have to worry about avenging my honor, Major. Lord Price is dead. He died when I was twenty-four, and his collection went up for sale. You know, that time in London when you tried to sell The Man in Purple.”
“Oh, that business where you cheated that Sheik, Sabbah.”
“Hmph. He was going to cheat me, so I cheated him first. I took all the paintings, including the Giorgione. I would have gotten The Man in Purple, too, but you’d had it shipped back to Germany,” Eroica had confessed, eyes sparkling.
“Degenerate thief,” he’d accused.
“Patient thief. It goes to show you, my dear, that I always get what I want.”
“Hmmph!” he’d huffed and slumped down on his back, turning away from the amused thief. Dorian had giggled and patted his arm amicably.
“Did he hurt you?” he’d asked softly after a few moments.
There was a long pause before the Earl had answered, but he’d finally replied, “No, not really… actually… yes. Yes, he did. He hurt me quite a lot, and not just physically. His… betrayal hurt just as much. I’d been a virgin and he… he’d taken more than my physical innocence.”
He’d reached over, searching for the thief’s hand, and took hold of it when he’d found it. Dorian had curled his fingers around his, and they’d stayed in silence for a while.
“It hurt,” he’d admitted. “When they… you know. It hurt. Especially the first time.”
Dorian’s hand had squeezed his tightly. “My only regret is that I did not have time to torture them the way they’d tortured you, but I was far too concerned with finding you and getting you to safety to waste time on a slow revenge.”
“I’m glad you killed them,” he’d admitted in a whisper, almost surprised by his own lack of remorse.
“Me too.”
After that, Dorian had put an arm around him, loosely across his chest but in such a way that he knew he could break the hold with a little as a deep breath, and snuggled close.
“I love you, Major,” he’d murmured in Klaus’s ear.
“I know,” he’d murmured back.
He’d wanted to add that he didn’t know why because he didn’t love the other man back, but he couldn’t because he wasn’t sure it was true. Dorian had sighed happily, and rested his cheek against Klaus’s head, then he’d sung the lullaby that put the Major to sleep.
Two weeks later, Agent A had passed along news through the usual underground channels that the Major was needed to testify at the General’s court martial, and they’d made arrangements to carefully make their way back to Germany.
The last time he had seen any of his men had been when he’d been standing on the Maiori wharf, and he and Agents A, B, G and Z had heard the whirr of a propeller. He’d looked to the sky with a sudden, sinking feeling, then turned back to the wharf when he’d heard his agents gasp. Eroica, in full costume with foppish hat, high heeled calf-length boots, a cape – yes, a cape – and a mask (as if everyone hadn’t already known who he was,) all in his signature red, had been running towards him at top speed. He’d had two seconds to marvel at how fast the thief could run in heels before hands were around him, and he’d realized that the cape was meant to conceal a double harness.
No sooner was he clipped in, secured to the thief with amazing speed, when the helicopter they’d been hearing came zipping into view, dragging a tie line. Two more seconds and Eroica had them clipped on, and then he was being yanked up into the air in a shower of rose petals and “From Eroica With Love” calling cards.
“I have him now my dear Alphabets! Good luck finding him this time! The hunt is on! From Eroica with love!” the fop had shouted over the wind and roar of the engine. “Oh, and dear G! Yellow is not your color!”
His agents had been staring up at them in mute shock, unsure if they should shoot or die laughing. As it was, it took him a full eight seconds to start screaming obscenities, and another three for him to scream at his men to shoot.
“Shoot, you idiots! Shoot!” But none of them had, and the last thing they heard from him as he was whisked over the wharf was, “I’m sending all of you to Alaska!! AGAIN!!”
He knew he’d never live that down. Ever. There was even a rumor that Agent G had gotten the whole “abduction” on film, but, thankfully for G, it hadn’t shown up on Youtube.
Klaus sighed and gave his uniform a final pat to smooth away a nonexistent wrinkle. He was nervous, but did not like to admit it. Once he went back to Germany, everything that he had been avoiding for four and half months would hit him in the face, and he wasn’t certain he was ready for that. But Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach was no coward, and he would present himself as ordered and do what had to be done. Everything else would just come as it went, and he’d make decisions accordingly.
And speaking of decisions… He looked around the bedroom of the house they were occupying. It belonged to one of Dorian’s colleagues (if one could call a fellow thief a colleague) and it was on the French-German border on the French side. They’d been there for two days, waiting to cross into Germany at the last moment because they knew the most dangerous part of their journey would be trying to get to the court martial. Their enemies knew where and when they had to be in a specific place, and they were sure to be lying in wait.
He and the Earl had decided to stay out of sight for as long as possible, and Dorian had even wanted them to disguise themselves in order to sneak onto the air force base where the court martial was being held, but he had refused. He was a NATO officer, a decorated Major in the German military, and he would not slink onto the base like a coward. All the same, Dorian had a plan to create some kind of diversion so that their pursuers would be confused. Klaus had learned that it was best for him to remain ignorant to the details of Eroica’s often elaborate and hare-brained plans, if only to spare himself the aggravation.
He sighed, noting the significant absence of the fop in question. The closer they got to Germany, and the date of the court martial, the more distant Dorian had become. He knew it was his fault that the Earl had pulled away. The other man was assuming that their “close association,” as they had been calling it, was coming to an end once they returned to Germany, and so far he had done little to dissuade the Earl’s belief. He’d been trying to telegraph his desire to continue their “association” beyond their return, but being a man of few words and subtle signs, his attempts had gone unremarked by the thief. It would seem that, after so many years of gobbling up the tiniest crumbs of encouragement Klaus had sent his way, the idiot had decided to become obtuse.
He supposed his own uncertainties regarding their “association” had something to do with Dorian’s reticence, but how could he be confident when he still had so many questions? He had no idea how any of it would work. The mechanics of a same-sex relationship notwithstanding, the two of them were such polar opposites how could they do anything but kill each other? But yet they were alike in all the things that mattered: they were both fiercely loyal and had strong senses of honor; both of them were committed to their jobs and passions, and both had proven to the other that they would do whatever was necessary in order to protect and support each other. If they shared those core values, was it enough to keep them together even when they had such differing views of the world?
And he wasn’t ignorant to the physical aspects of a relationship. He’d never had much of a sex drive to begin with, and now, after all he had been through, having sex was something that was entirely unappealing to him. The thought of anyone, male or female, touching him was enough to make his palms sweat, but he had no illusions that sex would play at least some part in a relationship with Dorian Red Gloria. The man made no attempt to hide his enjoyment of sex and sensual pleasures; things Klaus had routinely denied himself in deference to NATO and his duty. What sex he had engaged in had been as straightforward and utilitarian as the rest of his life, and Dorian seemed the type of man who could turn even something as base and simple as intercourse into a grand production.
Could Dorian accept him knowing his… limitations? He knew the man had confessed to being celibate for over a decade due to his unrequited love for the Major, but could Dorian handle a man that was as much of a tank in bed as he was everywhere else? He wouldn’t know until he made the offer, and if Dorian couldn’t…
His eyes strayed to the clock and then to the empty bed, his mouth drawing down into a deep frown. If Dorian couldn’t, what then? What then would be left for him? The life of cold solitude he’d convinced himself he liked and wanted? The empty bed and sterile house that reeked of sorrow and loss? The dark monotony that had been his life before Dorian had let the sunshine in? He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been until the Earl had shown him what a true partnership could be.
No, they weren’t lovers, but they’d shared just about everything else, and Klaus had become accustomed to the other man’s presence. There was intimacy and comfort in his friendship with the thief, and hard won trust. He was not a man who trusted easily, but when he gave it, it was for good, and Dorian had proven to him that he would not betray Klaus’s confidence. He would miss the man’s opinions and clever viewpoints, and the solace of knowing he had someone to come back to after a long day.
It would be hard to go back to the life he had led before, but he could do it if he had to… even if it meant that the bit of his heart that had softened under Dorian’s care hardened again. He could wrap himself in his cloak of duty and honor and press on, Iron Klaus once more – cold, hard and immovable. But he wouldn’t know how it was to be until he had reached out. Yes, it would be easier to do nothing, and he would not risk being rejected, but that would be cowardly, and Iron Klaus was anything but cowardly.
He sighed again and fingered the buttons on his pajama top. He’d left the undershirt off again even though the weather had turned cool. It was one of the subtle signs he’d been trying to send the fop that he was willing to negotiate entering a relationship. Dorian had noticed because he’d commented on the lack of undergarment, but Klaus doubted the thief had realized what it meant. Perhaps now was time for a more direct approach since they were on their last night in the safe house, and he did not know when he would get another chance.
Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and marched out of the bedroom in search of the English fop. He found Dorian sitting in the rear of the house on a padded window seat in a bay window that looked out over the property’s gardens. The Earl was on the cushion, arms around his knees, eyes staring out the plate glass. Since it was dark, there wasn’t much to see, but Klaus doubted Dorian was even registering what he was looking at. As it was, it took the other man a good minute to realize he was no longer alone.
“Lord Gloria, aren’t you coming to bed?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral.
The Earl glanced his way briefly, then turned his sad eyes back to the night. He was the very picture of dejection.
“I was thinking that perhaps we should sleep separately tonight. I know it is our last night… together, but it might be for the best. A… dry run of sorts to see how you do on your own. Not that I think you won’t do just fine, but… just for practice. And you know I’ll be just in the room next door if you need me. And I was thinking… if you were to… have trouble… after you go home, that maybe you could call me… perhaps… if you wanted and I… I could talk to you and maybe hearing my voice would help. What do you think?”
“I think you’re babbling,” he replied, still keeping his voice calm.
His jibe, however tenderly delivered, landed home, and he saw the Earl shiver and take a shaky breath.
“So sorry, my dear Major. I’m trying to keep a stiff upper lip, but I’m finding it a bit difficult. Do forgive me. I am just a lovesick idiot, you know, and I’m doing my best to face this bravely.”
He laughed softly. “You make it sound as if we will never see each other again.”
“Oh, I know we’ll see each other. You can be sure of it. I’ll be shadowing all of your missions from now on, and don’t you dare try to talk me out of it! I don’t care, I won’t listen to reason, and my mind’s made up! I will never again go through what I went through when you went missing. No, no and no! Never again, and that’s final.”
Dorian gave him a serious glare that was almost comical in its fierceness, but he hid the smile and met the stony gaze with calm aloofness until the Earl looked away again.
“Good. You’re not arguing with me. That means you’ve seen reason,” Eroica said with a hint of relief.
Klaus snorted. “Or maybe I just know the futility of having a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.”
“Oh, that’s rich even from you,” Dorian snapped. “You know full well that I have a brilliant mind.”
He crossed the room to stand beside the still seated Earl, and he reached out to tug one of the now ear-length curls. “Ja. You do. When you use it,” he responded gently.
Dorian sniffed and slumped his shoulders in defeat. “I… I know we’ll still see each other, but it won’t be the same. We won’t wake up together or share meals or spar with words and weapons the way we do now. You’ll be in Germany and I’ll be… wherever I’ll be, and we’ll only see each other when others will be looking. We won’t have this time alone anymore, and I’ve come to cherish what we have. We’re not even lovers and I feel like I’m losing my life-partner forever.”
Life-partner. Somehow, Klaus liked the sound of that. It sounded permanent, and it was good to hear that Dorian considered what they had to be for life, too.
He let his hand slide down to cup the nape of the Earl’s neck, then he gave a little tug so Dorian would look his way. He had to bend down at an odd angle in order to place his lips over the Earl’s, but he managed it, and he gave the other man a kiss. It was awkward and hesitant, but a kiss nonetheless, and the Earl reacted by gasping into Klaus’s mouth. When he pulled back to give Dorian a smile, the thief’s eyes were as round as saucers and full of mute shock.
“Dorian, come to bed,” he whispered in the shell of the man’s ear.
The Earl was still staring at him in stunned silence, so he moved his hand to run down the man’s arm and took his hand, tugging him forward. The tug seemed to break Dorian out of his trance, and he scrambled to his feet. Klaus gave him a secret smile and took a step back, before turning on his heel and walking sedately out of the room, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from snickering when he heard the Earl hurrying to follow.
Once back in the bedroom, he gave the other man a friendly push towards the ensuite bathroom.
“Go brush your teeth and whatever else you do that takes you nearly half-an-hour to get ready for bed,” he said, tossing a pile of flimsy silk that he thought was the Earl’s pajamas at him. The other man caught them almost as an afterthought and held them close to his chest.
“Major, are you feeling alright?” Dorian questioned, finally speaking since Klaus had kissed him.
“No. I am tired and I want to go to bed. Tomorrow I have to testify at a court martial for a man who betrayed his rank, his wife, his country, and his fellow officers, and I want to be well rested before I have to face him. So get to it. It’s after midnight,” he answered.
“Forgive me if I seem a bit addled, Major, but I think I just hallucinated you kissing me.”
He rolled his eyes and took three strides forward to plant another one on the poleaxed thief. It was easier now because they were both standing, and he was able to get a good one in before releasing him again.
“Go brush your teeth,” he ordered lowly.
Dorian blinked at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, until he finally snapped his jaw shut and huffed. “Don’t think you can order me around all the time, Major. I’m only doing what you’ve told me to because I’m half-convinced you’ve been taken over by aliens.”
“Right.”
“Right. Just so long as we understand each other,” the Earl repeated, then turned and went into the bathroom.
“I’ll never understand you. It’s an impossibility,” he muttered under his breath.
While he was waiting for Dorian to finish up his nightly bedtime routine, he did a few stretches and push-ups. He was almost back to his pre-abduction shape and weight, and he pushed himself to his limits every day. There was still some loss of feeling in the right hand, but he could fire his gun one-handed again and run for hours without breaking much of a sweat. Dorian had been helping him, challenging him, sparring with him. The Earl possessed none of his brute strength, but he made up for it in agility, and Klaus was hard pressed to lay a finger on him when they sparred.
When he was finished his little therapy session, he got into bed, propped pillows behind his head, and settled in to wait. While he lay there, he let his mind work through what would come next. He’d kissed the Earl – twice – and would probably kiss him again before the night was over, and perhaps he would even do more than kiss the man. He didn’t know.
He rolled the idea over in his head. He’d kissed Dorian. Now what? Soon Dorian would come out of the bathroom and get into bed. What would the Earl expect of him? What was he willing to offer? Kisses he thought he could do. Maybe a bit of petting and stroking would be okay as well, and maybe some disrobing as long as it wasn’t below the belt. Dorian did have very soft, smooth skin. He wouldn’t mind feeling more of it.
He could treat it like a mission. He could rationalize any behavior or action if it was for a mission. But Dorian wasn’t a mission. He wasn’t a duty, and he deserved better than Klaus forcing himself to do things he didn’t want to because he thought he had no choice. Both of them deserved better than that, and besides, the Earl would know Klaus was closing his eyes and thinking of Germany right away. No, he’d have to do it willingly, which meant Dorian was going to have to work within Klaus’s limitations while he expanded his horizons. He only hoped the Earl would be okay with that, otherwise the whole operation would crash and burn before it even got off the ground.
Thinking of the thief, Klaus noticed that he was still in the bathroom, and he was about to go banging on the door to find out what was taking so long, when the ensuite door opened and Dorian stepped out. He gave Klaus an uncertain, wary look before cautiously coming over to stand next to “his” side of the bed. Then Klaus watched with amusement as the other man hesitantly lifted the covers and slid between the sheets. Klaus gave him a full ten seconds before he took one arm and wrapped it around the thief.
“Come here,” he said, placing his hand flat on Dorian’s back and pulling him close.
The Earl scooted closer, but only to put a restraining hand on Klaus’s chest. The thief was on his side while Klaus was on his back, and the Earl was looking down at him with puzzlement. “Um… Major…”
“Klaus,” he corrected, relishing in the thief’s confusion.
“Klaus? Um…”
He chuckled. “I think I am liking you tongue-tied. I just might get a word in edgewise.”
“Don’t get used to it. I’m gathering my wits as we speak,” the thief countered.
“I’d better talk fast then. Or should I kiss you again and make you speechless?”
“I’d take a vow of silence if it meant you would kiss me,” the Earl cooed huskily as if he couldn’t help himself.
He laughed and smiled. “Do not make me promises you cannot keep. But I will kiss you again if you would like.”
“If I’d like…” Dorian breathed, bending his head down.
Klaus tilted his chin and met the thief halfway, offering his lips up for a kiss. Their mouths met, working against each other, and Klaus thought that it wasn’t all that different from kissing a woman – and not at all unpleasant. Then the Earl made a little choked noise in the back of his throat and tried to deepen the kiss, his tongue pressing against Klaus’s teeth.
A sudden bolt of panic and nightmare hit him, and he snapped his jaw shut, almost nipping the thief’s tongue in the process. Dorian sensed his distress immediately and backed off.
“Sorry! I’m sorry,” the Earl apologized.
He took a moment to calm his racing heart before comforting the thief who was looking like he was going to bolt at any moment.
“It’s okay. Just… don’t try to put anything in my mouth. They…”
“Say no more! I understand. Forgive me. I got carried away and wasn’t thinking. I am so so sorry.”
“As I said, it is okay. I am… better now,” he reassured the man, reaching for Dorian’s hand and holding it.
The Earl, however, did not seem mollified. If anything he looked spooked, wide-eyed and breathing shallowly. “We should stop. Yes, stop right now. You aren’t ready for this. It’s been less than six months since you were abducted, and you’re just doing this now because we’re going back to Germany tomorrow.”
He ran his thumb over the thief’s palm in a comforting motion. “It is true that I am being… more direct because this is our last night here, but I have been trying to tell you that I want a more… permanent arrangement for several days. You have been frustratingly oblivious to my overtures.”
“I wasn’t. Oblivious, that is. I did notice them. I just didn’t know what to make of them. I thought you couldn’t possibly be telling me what I thought you were telling me,” Dorian confessed.
“Well, I was telling you what you thought I was telling you,” he replied, taking his free hand and tugging on an errant curl. “But as usual, you had to be an idiot and fuck up my mission.”
The Earl looked contrite but his eyes were laughing. “I didn’t mean to, Ma… Klaus. But as usual, you didn’t let me in on the plan so I couldn’t help you. No, you had to be so secretive like you always are.”
“I’m a spy. It’s my fucking job to be secretive,” he countered.
“Touché! And I am a master thief. One would think I would be more observant, but I’m a bit obtuse when it comes to you. Blinded by love, you see.”
The coy, come hither look Dorian gave him would have had more effect if the Earl hadn’t been smirking, and Klaus ended up huffing and rolling his eyes.
“Ach, I must be insane.”
“No more so than me. Can you imagine a more mismatched pair? An internationally wanted master thief and a NATO Major. God truly is cruel.”
“You don’t believe in god any more than I do. And I am at the end of my career, and we both know it. Maybe I can get to live for myself now.”
Dorian gasped. “You can’t be serious, Major!”
He shrugged. “After all of this… NATO may offer me a promotion and give me the option of sitting behind a desk or retiring with full honors.”
“They wouldn’t! You’re Iron Klaus!”
He grimaced. “Iron Klaus is a relic of the Cold War, just like the KGB. Didn’t you get the memo that we’re all friends now?”
“There will always be people and governments that want to overthrow the free world. NATO will always need Iron Klaus,” the thief insisted.
He shook his head. “Yes, but they will be younger agents who are more adaptable to new technology.”
“You’ve done very well adapting to the digital age!”
“Yes, but I don’t want to anymore! I’ve had enough, Dorian. I’ve given Germany and NATO thirty-two years of my life, and what do I have to show for it? A young man’s rank and a body riddled with scars. Enough is enough.”
The Earl regarded him for a long time, his face sober and his eyes bright, until he suddenly tossed his head and assumed his Eroica persona. “I don’t believe it. Iron Klaus will never retire. What on earth would you do with yourself?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll take up gardening.”
Dorina giggled. “You? Gardening? I feel sorry for the poor plants. You’d make them grow all in a straight line and threaten them with serious pruning if they don’t follow orders.”
“Heh. Then maybe I will follow you around and fuck up all your thefts like you fucked up my missions,” he said with a grin.
“Ooohhhhhh. A German military man, ex-spy, munitions and explosives expert… Ohhhhh, what I wouldn’t do to have such a man on my team. And here I was worried you’d steal Bonham from me.”
“I’ll never steal for you,” he stated firmly. “Or help you steal.”
“Technically, you’ve already helped me steal lots of things, but they’ve always been ugly things like microfilms and file folders. But I get your point. I’d never ask you to compromise your sense of honor, Klaus. You know me better than that.”
“Ja. I thought so.”
Dorian turned blue eyes his way and dropped the foppish act. “But I would do anything to have you with me always. That’s what this is all about isn’t it? You want me always too?”
He regarded the other man for a good thirty seconds before replying, “Ja. I want to be with you, crazy and suicidal as it is. Ja, I do.”
A single tear escaped the thief’s eye and rolled down his cheek. “Oh Klaus…”
He staved off the declaration of love he knew was coming by putting up a hand.
“I have limits,” he warned. “You know what happened to me. You know I am… damaged. Still, I am willing to try a relationship with you, but you must be patient. This is all very new to me, and I am… uncertain. You will have to go… very slowly and be very gentle with me.”
His words, ones Klaus feared would make the Earl pull away, only made Dorian smile sweetly and bend down for a gentle kiss.
“I shall be as tender as rose petals and as light as gossamer wings,” he whispered against Klaus’s lips.
Klaus snorted and gave the other man a disapproving look. “Must you always spout foppish nonsense whenever you are with me?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I get within ten feet of you, Major, and I get all flustered and agitated,” Dorian replied, eyes dancing with happiness.
“You’re a blithering idiot no matter where you are in relation to me. How am I supposed to tell the difference?” he complained.
“I’m not sure, but you know how to shut me up.”
“Ja, I do,” he agreed, then he took the thief by the back of the head and pulled him down for another kiss.