"I'm sorry I left you, Belimai, but Edward was taken in by the Inquisition because of me. I had to get him out of there. You of all people should understand that."
"Oh, I understand. I just don't like it." Belimai jabbed Harper in the stomach two more times. Harper grabbed Belimai's bony foot and jerked him down flat on his back.
"Are you jealous? Am I only allowed to save you?" Harper pounced on top of Belimai, pinning him against the bed.
"You really can be an overbearing ass sometimes, you know that?" Belimai glared up at him.
"Yes, I know." Harper leaned forward so that his lips brushed Belimai's. "But you find me charming anyway, don't you?" Harper smiled and waited for Belimai's scathing reply. Instead he received a sharp jab in the side. Harper winced.
"I'm too tired to be clever, so you'll just have to settle for that," Belimai said.
"So, what exactly does a broken rib mean?" Harper asked.
"A broken rib." Belimai raised a black brow. "I hardly touched you."
"More's the pity." Harper leaned down again and kissed Belimai lightly on the lips. He felt Belimai's breath catch as they touched. Harper pulled back just enough to see Belimai's eyes close, then flash open again.
Belimai returned Harper's stare with a hard focus that he had never had before. The soft, drugged languor that Harper had grown so used to was gone. Belimai watched him with a starved intensity. His hands curled across Harper's back and pulled him back down. Belimai's tongue darted between Harper's lips, both invading and inviting. There was a ferocity to the kiss that seared through Harper. He forgot his gentle intentions and train of conversation.
With rough desperation, Harper pulled Belimai's loose clothes off. He ran his hands across the naked expanse of pale skin, savoring each hollow and curve. Belimai's hands slid under Harper's shirt and skimmed across his nipples. Then, with agonizing care, Belimai stroked the line of Harper s belt.
He kissed Harper again. Their tongues thrust and twined. Harper's entire body tensed. He kissed Belimai's throat, chest, and hips. His teeth grazed Belimai's arching flesh. Harper lifted his head and kissed Belimai's mouth, passing the taste of his own skin back to him.
Belimai pulled Harper's pants open. His hands curled around Harper. As if kneeling in prayer, Belimai bowed down and took Harper into the soft heat of his mouth. Harper's breath came in fast gasps. Harper's hips rocked with rushes of pleasure. He forced the sharp thrusts back into gentle motions. His muscles ached from restraint and driving desire.
Slowly, Harper turned and shifted around Belimai to reciprocate. Belimai moved with him, never lifting his head. They curled around each other, mirroring thrusts, sucking, and arching against each other in a driving rhythm. Shocks of pleasure jolted through Harper's body as Belimai swallowed him deeply.
Harper drew Belimai's hips closer. Ravenous, Harper sucked at Belimai, exulting in the mounting speed of Belimai's response. Harper's own body already raged beyond his control. Belimai's thrusts quickened, and Harper matched him. They moved together, their bodies locked in desperate motion and exquisite pleasure.
Ecstasy burst through Harper's body. It washed through his bones, blood, and muscles. It engulfed him in a thoughtless purity far deeper than even sleep. Harper lost himself—every fear, rage, hope, and desire—in a flood of physical joy.
Then the moment passed. Harper felt utterly exhausted. He managed to turn around and drape one arm over Belimai's spent body. He could hardly keep his eyes open as he pressed a kiss against Belimai's lips. Belimai shifted against him and pulled the blankets over them both.
"All right," Belimai whispered so softly that Harper hardly heard him, "I do find you charming."
Chapter Eleven
'Liar
When Harper awoke, he was alone in the bed. The dull light of a few streetlamps poured in through the broken windows. Twilight winds tumbled through the torn curtains, carrying fat droplets of rain inside. Harper looked around the room and caught the outline of Belimai's thin body. Belimai moved cautiously. He held his shoes in his hands as he pulled on a coat. Then he crept toward the door, stepping expertly past the floorboards that might have groaned or creaked.
"Where are you going?" Harper asked.
Belimai spun back on him.
"Out for a walk," Belimai said.
"It's raining." Harper sat up. A chill hung through the room.
"I need to stretch my legs a little." Belimai took another step toward the door.
"I'll go with you."
Belimai's secretiveness worried Harper. It seemed utterly at odds with the way he had behaved only a few hours ago. Harper grabbed his scattered clothes from the floor. He pulled on his pants. The cloth was unpleasantly cold and still damp from the morning rain.
"Harper, don't," Belimai said. "Don't come with me."
"Why shouldn't I?" Harper already had his suspicion.
"You need to get more sleep."
"I'm already up." Harper forced a smile. "Try again."
"I would just rather do some things by myself." Belimai's voice was oddly soft.
"Are you going to look for ophorium?" Harper quickly crossed the space between them. He should have guessed that Belimai would be tempted to feed his addiction once he returned to the capital.
Belimai turned to Harper and looked directly at him. Up close, Harper could see the strange expression on Belimai's face. His eyes were wide and oddly shiny. He pressed his lips closed, drawing quick breaths in through his flared nostrils. Belimai had worn the same expression after Mr. Scott-Beck had nearly gutted him. Seeing it again, now, alarmed Harper.
"Most men are tempted to go back to it." Harper tried to draw the accusation out of his previous words. "It's a hard thing to give up. Normally, people slip a few times before they can make a clean break."
Belimai said nothing, just stared at him. It wasn't like Belimai to be so quiet or to look so fragile after a mere remark. There was something more to this, Harper knew. But he didn't know what.
"Look, Belimai. I know how hard this has to—"
"Be quiet." Belimai held up his hand. "I'm not going out searching for a fix." Slowly, he drew back from Harper. "I'm going to the Inquisition."
"What?" Harper could hardly put breath behind his voice.
"I have to turn myself over to them. We both know it," Belimai said.
Harper thought that someone might have shoved a steel blade into his guts. A shocking, hard pain wrenched through him. He stared at Belimai in stunned horror for a moment. His sister must have told Belimai about Sariel. There couldn't be any other reason that Belimai would turn himself in.
"You can't do that." Harper grabbed Belimai, knocking the shoes from his hands. "Why can't you just forget about him? All he's ever done is ruin your life!"
"What are you talking about?" Belimai stared at him.
"You and Sariel." Harper knew his voice was rising with rage, but he couldn't seem to stop it. "Do you think I'm just going to let it happen all over again?"
"Harper, have you gone mad?" Belimai asked.
"You aren't going to turn yourself in for Sariel," Harper stated flatly.
"I was never going to, you idiot," Belimai snapped. "I'm doing this for you."
"What?" Harper's anger and pain dropped into an abyss of confusion.
"I ought to jab you in the eye for making me have to say it out loud," Belimai growled.
"You can jab me anywhere you like; just explain what you're talking about."
Belimai glared at him, but Harper found the expression almost reassuring after that strange, wide-eyed look Belimai had given him earlier.
"You did say you were turning yourself in to the Inquisition. .." Harper spoke with slow deliberation, watching Belimai's face with each word.