Chapter 14
Fourteen
Jonathon had snuck back into 6A in the middle of the night to leave another note. His conscience had gotten to him and he missed Muriel too. He felt terrible for making her worry, but Jonathon needed more time to think and he didn’t want to be pressured in either direction. He also felt just a little safer, two floors further out of Leo’s reach.
Not that Leo would ever physically hurt or threaten Jonathon, but seeing him again was dangerous. Especially if Jonathon hadn’t made peace with the past and thought through his answer. His brain would shut off as soon as their eyes met.
If Leo touched Jonathon?
Game over.
While he was still furious, Jonathon was beginning to understand how they had been manipulated and felt a great deal of sympathy for Leo as well. But that sympathy came with its own sickly, sour flavor that Jonathon wasn’t sure he should swallow.
Muriel had been right in that Jonathon should have trusted her more, and Leo should have stood up for them and himself. The idea that Leo had sacrificed not just them, but so much of his own well-being and happiness was like rubbing salt in Jonathon’s wounds because it had truly been for nothing. All of it: the lost years, their shared heartache, and Jonathon’s descent into depression, drugs, and debauchery.
He could easily forgive Leo for falling for Sabine’s schemes because Jonathon had as well, but to lose faith so quickly and to simply give up? At least, Jonathon had done something and had refused to accept the loss and move on. He never stopped fighting, even when he didn’t think he wanted Leo anymore. Jonathon was just too mad and too stubborn to forget a man like Leo or a snub like that.
But he didn’t move on and he didn’t forget me…
That was something and Jonathon could feel several old wounds healing and scars within him regenerating while he lounged in Milo’s bathtub. Jonathon was wearing a white T-shirt and gray boxer briefs as he basked in the sunlight. The rain had cleared for a while and Jonathon couldn’t resist when he came in to brush his teeth. The tub looked so warm and bright, in front of the window and glowing with the sun. He climbed in and was immediately soothed so he decided to stay and recharge in the light while he pondered his next move.
The longer he pondered and the warmer Jonathon got, the more inclined he was to meet with Leo, just to hear him out. Jonathon needed to know how Leo could have lost faith so quickly and believed what Sabine had told him. And why would Leo have suffered for so long when he could have put an end to it whenever he had wanted by simply finding Jonathon on Instagram and sending him a message?
There was also the question of what Leo wanted. Why was he so keen to find Jonathon? Was he expecting an apology? If so, Leo could hold his breath until he turned into a man-sized apfelstrudel. It didn’t seem likely that Leo would still be interested in rekindling their affair, after all the time that had passed and all that Jonathon had done.
Which meant that closure was the most likely reason. Jonathon wasn’t sure if he owed Leo anything, but decided he would like some closure for himself. Maybe then, Jonathon could put Leo behind him and find a less exhausting identity to inhabit. And with the truth out and his reputation completely demolished, there was a chance Jonathon could fade into obscurity and carve out a quiet life for himself.
He couldn’t hide with the Ashbys forever, but his time in their soft sanctuary had given Jonathon an entirely new perspective on his life, despite being only a few floors up from 6A. Jonathon was extraordinarily lucky to have a best friend like Muriel. Anyone could have an eccentric overbearing aunt, but a true ride or die who supported you no matter what—even when you were being your absolute worst—was priceless.
When Jonathon was ready to go downstairs, he owed Muriel a monster of an apology for being an absolute monster for ten years. And he owed her an apology for not having faith in her when they were at Sch?nbühel. She had certainly proven her worth their last morning there.
Even Jonathon had been amazed by Muriel’s shrewdness and cunning as the matter with Herr Weber was brought to a startling conclusion. It began when the housekeeper, Frau Fischer, hurried into the dining room, breathless and blushing as she curtsied next to Leo.
“I beg your pardon, Herr von Hessen. There is a detective here to see you.”
“A detective?” Leo and Sabine both echoed and she nodded.
“A Monsieur LeBeau. He’s with Interpol, sir,” she added in a shaky whisper.
“Show him in!” Leo said as he wiped his lips with his napkin and tossed it on his plate. He looked at Sabine but she simply shrugged.
A moment later, a tall, older man with thin white hair followed Frau Fischer into the dining room.
“Herr von Hessen,” he said as he bowed, then addressed the rest of the room as Leo stood and held out his hand.
“Welcome to Sch?nbühel. How can we help you?”
Monsieur LeBeau offered him a slight nod and scanned the faces around the table. “Which of you is Muriel Hormsby?” he asked the women and Jonathon groaned as he rubbed his temple and sank in his chair, pointing at his aunt.
“What have you done now, Muriel? Let’s pray I have enough cash to cover this.”
She laughed but Leo and Sabine appeared alarmed while LeBeau blinked at Jonathan, shaking his head. “Madam Hormsby notified the Duke of Kent and he forwarded her concerns on to us. Her instincts proved correct: a wanted criminal has been hiding at Sch?nbühel.”
“Mein Gott!” Sabine whispered, clutching the collar of her blouse. “Here? With us?”
“I knew it!” Muriel declared triumphantly. “I told you he wasn’t a real butler,” she said to Jonathon and LeBeau nodded.
“His real name is Carl Aber and he is wanted in several countries across Europe for numerous crimes, including identity fraud, embezzlement, forgery, and he is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Catherine DeMarsch.”
“The perfume heiress?” Muriel gasped and exchanged stunned looks with Sabine.
“Indeed,” LeBeau confirmed, causing Leo to chuckle wryly.
“Perhaps Interpol should hire Ms. Hormsby,” he said but Sabine cleared her throat.
“Perhaps we should. You’re going to need security once you’re Margrave and clearly, Muriel’s more adept than whoever was responsible for hiring ‘Weber.’”
Frau Fischer whimpered as she twisted the front of her apron. “We cannot find Herr Weber,” she whispered to Leo. “No one has seen him since last night.”
“You might try Kensington Palace,” Muriel said, raising a brow at Sabine accusatively. “Perhaps he’s transferred to a different royal house.”
Sabine’s face fell and a red rash spread up her neck. “I thought something might have been off about him, but I assumed Herr Weber had been vetted by the Foundation or the last Margrave’s people,” she babbled quickly and took a large gulp from her tea cup. “I’m so sorry, Leo. I won’t let this happen again.”
He shook his head, turning his attention back to LeBeau. “We knew nothing about the man before we arrived a month ago, but you will have our full cooperation,” he stated and Sabine grimaced at LeBeau.
“Can we cooperate from Vienna? I understand that you have an investigation to conduct but we have a ceremony to attend and Herr von Hessen cannot be late,” she stated and LeBeau waved it off.
“There won’t be much for us here if Aber has already fled. We will be questioning the rest of the staff and searching his quarters, but I can’t see the value in detaining any of you. Although, I would like a word with Madam Hormsby,” he said, smiling as he bowed his head at her. “She has managed to beat Interpol’s best investigators and there is a reward,” he informed them.
Muriel’s face pinched in disapproval. “I find it appalling that you would suggest that I am in need of a job and short on funds. Give the reward to your investigators. They might try harder next time if they’re better compensated,” she suggested and signaled that she was ready to get up. “I want to take a walk before we leave, Jonathon. We’ll be cooped up in cars most of the day so I want to get some exercise.”
“Yes, Aunt Muriel,” he said as he jumped up to help her stand. “Monsieur LeBeau,” he said with a duck of his head at the older man, then smiled at Sabine as they passed her. Jonathon risked a quick glance at Leo, silently agreeing to meet him in the library once their walk was finished.
“I will never doubt you again, Muriel,” Jonathon had vowed as they walked through the castle’s garden one last time. “My very own Miss Marple,” he declared.
She laughed and patted his arm. “Yes, you will, and you absolutely should. Half the time I am making it up just to amuse myself or so I can say I was right later. I enjoy being the embodiment of a broken clock and only right twice a day.”
“No one likes a know-it-all,” Jonathon had agreed.
He kissed her on the cheek when they parted ways in the hallway outside her room. Jonathon had books to return to the library and wanted to take another pass around the castle to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind.
“That was unbelievable!” Jonathon had laughed when he was pulled into Leo’s arms for a brutal, possessive kiss.
“I don’t give a damn about Weber,” Leo groaned into the corner of Jonathon’s neck. “This is the last time I’ll be able to touch you or taste you until I can sneak into London in a few months and I won’t be able to do anything but shake your hand downstairs. I’ll have to act indifferent and impatient when all I want is to cry and give you a proper kiss goodbye.”
Jonathon grabbed his face and tapped their foreheads together. “Stop! I have to believe that it won’t be that bad or I’ll start crying. I love you and I’ll wait for you forever if I have to, just don’t leave me hanging.”
“I won’t!” Leo rasped, tears clinging to his lashes as they kissed. “One more time,” he demanded as he backed toward the armchair, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his fly.
“Are you sure we have time?” But Jonathon was already unbuttoning his jeans and toeing off his sneakers. “Sabine is probably looking for you,” he predicted, his tongue sliding around Leo’s. Then, Jonathon almost bit his tongue when he was lifted and his jeans were whisked off.
“She’s looking for her phone. I hid it and she was having her luggage brought back up to her room when I left her.”
“Leo!” Jonathon felt terrible for the trouble Leo had caused. Until Leo freed his cock and lowered into the armchair with Jonathon on his lap. “Might as well make it worth it,” he decided and shimmied down between Leo’s knees and moaned appreciatively, nuzzling and lapping at his hard-on and sac.
“Bitte!” Leo whispered as he cupped Jonathon’s cheek, guiding the head to his lips. “Oh, bitte, bitte, bitte,” he crooned tenderly.
Tears stung Jonathon’s eyes as he opened wide and took Leo deep into his throat, sucking slow and hard. He wanted time to stop and to stay there forever, listening to Leo beg and swear as his fingers sifted lovingly through Jonathon’s hair.
“Mein Liebster, mein Geliebter, mein Jonathon.”
Jonathon felt precious and perfect and loved , and he was sure they were meant to be together and nothing could keep them apart.
Perhaps that was the reason Jonathon had never gotten over Leo. He knew how to fuck someone so hard and so well, reality fractured and logic bent around Leo’s dick when he was balls-deep inside of them. Jonathon imagined that a good, sensual kiss goodbye could be as bad as a curse. But Leo had sealed Jonathon’s fate by rimming him until he was frantic and bending him over the back of their chair one last time. The wooden frame had snapped, along with Jonathon’s soul, as Leo came deep in his ass and vowed that it wasn’t the end.
From that moment on, Jonathon’s life had changed. They lingered as they dressed, kissing and murmuring plans to call and write as soon as they were alone, but that was the last time the two of them would ever speak. Tiny, whispering fears started tickling his ear when Leo tipped Jonathon’s chin back for one last kiss at the library door, warning that this was the last time.
“You will always be my Jonathon,” Leo had rumbled as he pecked, then opened the door and headed down the hallway in his quick confident stride.
“Always,” Jonathon had whispered and pulled in a deep breath, summoning his strength and blinking back tears before heading downstairs to give the most challenging performance of his life.
He smiled and whistled breezily as he skipped down the steps, offering Frau Fischer and her staff a pleasant smile. “Thank you so much for making this such a magical and memorable stay. You’ve all been so kind.”
“I’ll hope we’ll see you again soon, Mr. Hawthorne,” Frau Fischer had said warmly.
Jonathon turned and sucked in a breath at the stinging burn in his gut and the rush of dread he felt as he watched Leo say his goodbyes.
“Muriel,” Leo said, bowing over her hand. “It was a pleasure and you will always be welcome,” he had murmured with a wink, making Muriel chuckle as she kissed his cheek.
“I wasn’t sure about you, but I think you’ll do as the new Lord von Hessen,” she had teased before releasing Leo so he could say his farewells to Jonathon.
“Mr. Hawthorne.” His hand tightened around Jonathon’s, holding it firmly as Leo leaned in to kiss his cheek. “ Meiner. Auf immer und ewig,” he murmured so only Jonathon could hear while smiling and nodding as if he were commenting on the traffic to Vienna.
Forever and always.
Jonathon almost broke then. The impulse to hold onto Leo and shout that he had changed his mind grew so strong, Jonathon’s knees almost buckled.
“Always,” Leo said quietly and Jonathon gave himself a mental slap.
He had to keep it together and they were in trouble if he was already having doubts.
They had made a pact and it would take a lot more than a few months and a few hundred miles to break it because Jonathon was made to love Leo and Leo had chosen Jonathon to be his forever and always. It was as simple as that and they would be together again, he told himself.
“Good luck in Vienna, sir,” Jonathon had replied with a slight bow and he heard Leo stifle a sigh before turning to thank Frau Fischer.
Jonathon lingered in the foyer until Leo headed out to the car, waiting to catch Sabine. She came racing from the east wing and down the stairs, her heels clicking rapidly on the marble.
“Finally found it!” she announced, bobbing a quick curtsy at everyone. “No idea how it ended up in my toiletry bag,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Frau Fischer, then nodding at Muriel as she turned for the door. “Ms. Hormsby, a pleasure. Mr. Hawthorne.” She winked at him. “I hope we’ll cross paths again soon,” she said with a wide smile.
“Actually, Sabine,” Jonathon said and took out the note he’d prepared with all of his contact information, looking around. “I wanted to catch you before you left. Leo said that I should call one of you if I ever needed anything, but he said the Foundation is confiscating his phone when he gets to Vienna and giving him all new devices and a new number.”
Sabine pulled a face as she reached into her tote bag and found her trusty notepad. “He’s still using that Blackberry. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to pry that relic out of his hands?” They exchanged weary sighs, laughing as she wrote down a number. “Security will be imperative after Vienna so all of his contact information will be secret, but I’ll make sure you have his new number. In the meantime, you can get a hold of me at any time and I’ll put you right through.”
“Thanks!” Jonathon pulled her into a tight, grateful hug, making her laugh.
“Of course,” she said as she squeezed him back. “This last month has been just what Leo needed. I’ve never seen him so relaxed and… happy. I always wish he would smile more and you seem to bring out the best in him.”
Oh, well…” Jonathon blushed and shrugged it off. “Leo’s a wonderful man so it’s easy, making him happy. Thanks, Sabine. I hope everything goes smoothly in Vienna.”
“It will,” she said with a confident nod, scanning the foyer and the courtyard around them. “I won’t let anything get in Leo’s way and his ceremony will be perfect,” she assured him, then offered Jonathon one last kiss on the cheek before leaving.
“She truly was a snake,” Jonathon said, seething as he uncrossed and recrossed his ankles on the lip of the tub in Milo Ashby’s bathroom. Leo had to know that Sabine had created a wall between them and that Jonathon had been left out in the cold. Contact between them had stopped as soon as Leo’s car turned out of the driveway and Jonathon lost sight of them.
Jonathon had tried calling and texting that first night. Now, he knew that Leo had as well. Why hadn’t Leo grown suspicious after neither of them had managed to get through the first twenty-four hours? How could he let it go a whole week? Jonathon had been distraught and had never felt more helpless as the phone rang and rang and his emails went unanswered. Why would Leo expect anything else and why would he have allowed Jonathon to go through that?
“Why didn’t he believe in us? Why did he give up so quickly?”
There was only one way to know, unfortunately, and Jonathon wasn’t sure if he wanted closure badly enough to ask Leo himself.
“What good would it do?” Jonathon asked as he folded his arms behind this head and enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face. There was no going back and Jonathon couldn’t fathom why Leo would want him now. “I certainly made sure of that.”