Debts - 23. Chapter 23

- XXIII -

“Rayhe...”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Des, just do it! He was right, and you know it. I am sorry, I can’t go with you! Today is actually one of those days when I have to be at work, and I told you that already...! Fifty times...!”

“Goddammit, Rayhe!”

“Des, just do it! Go there, tell him to hurry up with whatever exchange he is doing...”

“He is not going to hurry it up, and you know it! That thing takes time!”

“Well, he only has until tonight anyway,” Gabriel shrugged. “She said she would only give him two days, yesterday included. That means the entire ordeal will have to be finished tonight or tomorrow afternoon at the latest. I don’t think he’s going to wait until tomorrow though. Go tell him to leave the city as soon as he is done, okay? In case if he decides to stick around for some reason,” he shrugged and finished his coffee.

Desmond watched him empty his mug and reach for the car keys. He gritted his teeth in helpless anger, knowing that he would have to get his ass off this chair rather soon, get into the car, and drive to that bloody hotel, so he could find the damn blond (out of his own goddamn will!) and tell him to get out of the city after the entire ordeal with the rock was resolved. “Yeah,” he thought gloomily after Gabriel left the house with yet another, ‘Just do it!’ “Yeah, if my plan doesn’t work, and if that crazy bitch gets Raven...” he gritted his teeth without finishing the thought.

He looked at the clock. It was only 7:15 in the morning. Desmond figured that the blond would probably leave the hotel rather soon, considering that he was on a time frame, thanks to Desmond’s plan, which meant he had to get off his ass now, because Desmond had no idea whether Salamander even planned to come back to the hotel. He muttered something under his breath, finished his coffee, and grudgingly got off his ass.

****

Julian woke up because of the light, circle-drawing touches on his chest. He lay still, enjoying the sensations for a couple of minutes, and then opened his eyes.

“Morning,” Raven said softly.

“Hey,” the blond muttered, and Raven gave him a small smile and leaned forward.

Julian closed his eyes again when he felt the other man’s mouth on his, and the minute he invited the kiss, his eyes flew wide open.

“Oh, hell...” he breathed with annoyance and pushed the dark-haired man away. “It’s you again...!”

Raven stared at him wide-eyed for almost a full minute, and then slowly shook his head.

“Goddamn...!” he said with great feeling. “You are good! How did you know...?”

Julian propped himself up on the elbow.

“I guess it was a good idea to put up a barrier last night,” he said darkly. “Should’ve tried keeping it up for the night... I knew, however, that I probably wouldn’t be able to do that while sleeping.”

“That’s why it felt like I was trying to break through a brick wall!” the dark-haired man said with frustration. “Damn! How did you do that though...?”

“My blood has been flowing through his veins longer than yours,” Julian said calmly. “A lot longer,” he added with a small nod.

The smaller man let out a frustrated sigh.

“Do you have the rock?” he finally asked very sharply.

“I do,” the blond said as calmly.

“Show me!” the dark-haired thief demanded.

Julian reached for the black bag without getting off the bed. He slowly pulled out the dark-green rock, and Raven’s expression became almost hungry. Julian let out a small smile and slowly dropped the rock back into the bag, causing another frustrated sigh.

“Okay,” the brunet said after a minute. “Since you indeed have it, let’s meet in a couple of hours, and part ways happy and satisfied, how’s that?”

“Nine in the evening,” Salamander said shortly, and his tone didn’t leave any room for debate.

“Why nine in the evening?” the brunet frowned in confusion.

“Because I have plans,” Julian said in the even voice. “Plans that I am not changing.”

“Fine...!” the brunet rolled his eyes. “Even though the deadline is at four in the afternoon today...”

“No,” Julian interrupted him sharply. “The deadline is at four in the afternoon tomorrow; forty-eight hours,” he nodded. “That’s the definition of ‘two days’...”

The dark-haired man narrowed his eyes.

“As I said,” he said evenly. “It’s fine!”

“Where?” Julian asked shortly, and brunet’s expression became slightly thoughtful.

“The Rock Garden,” he said finally with a slow smile.

“The Rock Garden,” Julian repeated.

“Yeah,” the other man nodded curtly. “Figure out where it’s at; center of the Rock Garden, nine o’clock, tonight!”

“Fine,” Julian said tightly. “Don’t bother trying to get into him again,” he said in a low voice. “Believe me, that would be futile.”

“Figured,” the brunet muttered darkly. “All right,” he sighed. “Have fun,” he suggestively ran his hands towards his hips, then his eyes rolled back, and he fell down onto the bed without saying anything else.

Julian sighed ant put the black bag away. Then he waited for Raven to wake up. The smaller man woke up maybe five minutes later. He groaned softly, and then his eyes slowly peeled open. Julian looked at him for several long seconds.

“Welcome back,” he said finally and gave Raven a slow smile.

“Ah, crap...” the brunet muttered and sat up. “She did that thing again, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” Julian sighed and pulled him closer. “She did. Could you tell?”

“Yeah,” Raven leaned into the touch. “Feels like...” he paused for several seconds. “Feels like I am wearing something that hasn’t been washed in a while,” he finished with a slight nod.

“You are not wearing anything,” Julian murmured, running his lips over Raven’s slowly.

“I know that,” Raven said in a low voice.

He pulled the blond closer, never letting go of his mouth, and Julian inhaled sharply when he nibbled on his upper lip far from playful.

“Mmm...” he said with regret, and pulled away. “No time,” he muttered and ran his fingers through Raven’s hair. “We have to go...”

Raven glanced at the clock; it read 7:36. He sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

“Right...” he muttered finally and let go of blond’s shoulders. “Twelve hours, right?”

“At the most,” Julian nodded, watching him get off the bed. “Sore...?” he asked after Raven started getting dressed.

“Not really...” Raven said somewhat thoughtfully. “I expected more,” he nodded and pulled on his pants. “I mean, we didn’t fall asleep until four in the morning...” He grinned. “I heal fast,” he shrugged and put on his shirt.

“I know,” Julian murmured and got out of bed as well.

“Of course, you do,” Raven nodded, watching blond’s lean body with unhidden hunger. “Twelve hours...” he muttered.

“At the most,” Julian nodded, and slightly frowned when the phone started ringing. “Yes,” he said after he picked it up. Then he frowned again. “Desmond Rae...?” he repeated slowly. “I have no idea who that is... Oh, hold on,” he pressed the receiver against his shoulder and looked at Raven, who was urgently snapping his fingers at him.

“Desmond,” Raven said with a quick nod. “Desmond...!” he repeated when the blond’s expression remained blank. He rolled his eyes. “Specter!”

Julian blinked at that somewhat rapidly, and then he brought the receiver back to his ear and said:

“Yes, that’s fine, send him up.”

He thoughtfully looked at the receiver before replacing it in the cradle. They both finished getting dressed when there was a sharp knock on the door. Julian opened it and questioningly looked at very gloomy Desmond, who stared at him with tired impatience. Julian took a step aside to let him in. Desmond sighed and walked inside, giving a brief nod to Raven.

“Have you scheduled your exchange yet?” he asked after Salamander closed the door.

“Nine o’clock tonight,” Julian answered without bothering to ask why he would even care.

“Good,” Desmond nodded energetically. “After you finished, get out of the city; don’t even bother coming back here, just get out.”

The blond blinked at that.

“Why?” he asked with clear puzzlement.

“Because there is a certain Guardian who is hell-bent on burning you into crisp,” Desmond replied curtly. “Not from your alliance, obviously.”

“I never Pledged,” Julian said with a small smile.

“I don’t give a damn and you know what I mean,” Desmond said calmly.

“What would the Fire Guardian want with me?” the blond slightly frowned, and here, Desmond did smile.

“He is Sam’s mate,” he said pleasantly, watching Salamander’s expression and hoping for a glimpse of fear. To his greatest disappointment, there was none – just a hint of mild amusement.

“I see,” was all the blond said with a slight nod.

“Who is Sam?” Raven asked with interest, and Desmond looked at Julian again.

“Tell him,” he said poisonously, and the blond didn’t even flinch.

He turned his head to look at Raven.

“He was a frequent attendee of my parties,” he said in his usual purring manner. “It was a while ago,” he added with a small nod.

“Ah,” Raven said with understanding. “Well, I can certainly understand his mate then... He survived though, that’s good,” he shrugged, and Desmond looked at him intently for a few seconds.

“Huh,” he said finally. “You two are much more alike than I thought at first...” He grinned darkly. “Explains some things now... Anyway,” he looked at Julian again. “I am not doing this for you; I am doing this...”

“To avoid the confrontation,” the blond nodded without a smile this time. “It would not turn out well for the Guardian.”

“So full of yourself,” Desmond muttered, and the blond shrugged.

“It would not turn out well for me also, but as you noted earlier, you don’t give a damn,” he frowned for a short second. “What is the Rock Garden?” he asked, and Desmond blinked at the sudden change of subject.

“It’s a place,” he said slowly. “Bare field, pretty much, surrounded by a hell of a lot of rocks. Different sizes, different shapes... Nothing but rocks, hence the Rock Garden,” he nodded. “Attraction for tourists mostly, but now it’s not the season.”

“So it would be deserted,” Julian said thoughtfully.

“Pretty much,” Desmond nodded. “Especially considering that it’s in the middle of nowhere...”

“I take it, you know where it is, correct?” the blond shot him a quick glance.

“I could give you the directions,” Desmond nodded again. “Give me a pen and...”

“How far away is it from the hospital?” Julian interrupted him.

“Forty five minutes, give or take,” Desmond shrugged.

“I want you to pick me up tonight at eight in the evening by the main entrance of the hospital...” the blond said without a shadow of a smile. “...and drive me to the Rock Garden.”

Desmond looked like he just misheard something.

“Excuse me?” he said.

“You heard me,” Salamander didn’t even bother with a nod. “That is where the exchange will be taking place, and I don’t want to take an unnecessary risk of getting lost on the way because of someone’s poor driving or navigational skills. I also don’t want to drive there myself because I don’t know this city well enough. You, however, don’t strike me as someone who would get lost,” here he did nod. “Therefore, pick me up at eight o'clock tonight by the hospital’s main entrance.”

Desmond looked at him silently for a minute or so.

“What makes you think that I would do that?” he finally asked with genuine interest, and the blond looked at him seriously.

“The fact that you would enjoy knowing that I owe something to you,” he said, and Desmond narrowed his eyes. “We need to leave now,” he glanced at his watch. “Eight o’clock, main entrance of the hospital. Let’s go,” he looked at Raven.

He waited for the brunet to get closer, and then he opened the door.

“Goodbye,” was all he said before leaving the room.