Page 39 of Jonathon, After All

“Love me?” Leo blurted and his head snapped up. He looked dazed as he panted and blinked at Jonathon. “You lo…love me?” he asked hoarsely.

Jonathon nodded jerkily. “Yes. I do. I love you. I’m sorry,” he admitted in a shaking rush, fresh tears puddling his vision.

“Oh, Gott!” Leo captured Jonathon’s lips for a desperate, seeking kiss as his hips pumped harder and faster. He pulled Jonathon’s leg higher and a hand locked tight around his ass. “I love, love, love you. I love you so much,” he huffed, crying as he licked and sucked on Jonathon’s lips like he could taste their words. “So much.”

Intense joy and pure love swept over Jonathon, stunning him as pleasure erupted in his core. “Yes, Leo!” he sobbed as he came, praying and begging that the spell would never break, that he’d never lose Leo’s love. Leo tumbled into bliss half a heartbeat later, a rush of slick heat flooding Jonathon’s ass as he shuddered through another tremor of pleasure. “Please don’t leave me,” Jonathon whispered once he had recovered.

Leo groaned as he rolled them, draping Jonathon over his chest and cradling his head. “I would stay here forever with you. I don’t even want to go to Vienna for the ceremony anymore.”

“Andreas can’t cover for you?” Jonathon joked, earning a distracted chuckle from Leo. His fingertips scrubbed Jonathon’s scalp, making him drowsy as he listened to the steady thudding of Leo’s heart.

“Not this time, but I don’t care about any of it if you won’t be there,” he said distantly, then stopped and raised his head. “Why can’t you be there?” he asked, looking around.

Jonathon had a feeling he was looking for his Blackberry or for Sabine and giggled. “I don’t know. Maybe you should ask the man in charge,” he said and gave Leo’s ribs a tickle.

He jumped, grabbing Jonathon’s hand. “The man in charge has decided that you and your aunt will be invited as his special guests.” A wide, calculating grin stretched across his lips. “Sabine will explain that the two of you were a great comfort and aided me in my recovery and that our families have grown close.”

“Very close,” Jonathon agreed, giggling and bubbling with giddy joy again as they kissed and made plans to relocate to Vienna.

Starting with an invitation from Leo, requesting that Muriel and Jonathon be his special guests. It seemed highly likely that Muriel would accept and Jonathon planned to suggest they prolong their stay in the capitol until the start of school so he could study the works of Klimt at the Belvedere and the Habsburg collections at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna was renowned for its art as well as its music, and Jonathon was always happy when he knew they’d be visiting.

They had agreed that keeping their relationship quiet until Jonathon finished school and Leo had settled into his role was best. Leo was adamant that Jonathon have time and room to study and had promised to work as much from London as he could so they were only apart for a few months at a time.

Their plan had been so simple and possible until the following morning and everything began to unravel again. Over the years, Jonathon had convinced himself that Leo had been toying with him at the end, getting his hopes up and dashing them as the clock wound down and the end of their fairy tale drew closer.

How much of it had been Sabine’s influence, Jonathon suddenly wondered. He felt sick—with himself and with Leo—for allowing her to play them so easily.

“I need to see what else happened while Leo was here, what else he told Muriel,” Jonathon said as those haunting moments with Sabine faded and he returned to 8B, smiling at Riley and Milo as he began to plan.

“What are you going to do?” Riley asked and there was a loud gulp from Milo.

Jonathon’s cheeks puffed out as he braced his hands on his hips. “I’m going to break into 6A and see what Muriel and Tilly are saying.”

“Can I go with you?” Riley begged in an excited whisper but Milo flinched and shook his head.

“Please!” Luna batted her eyelashes at Jonathon and pushed out her lower lip. “I’m a really good climber and crawler and I can be really quiet.”

Milo shook his head wildly. “No, Dad! You two can’t! I’ll…” His face scrunched. “I’ll tell Dad to ground both of you or something.”

Riley laughed. “Giles knows better.”

“He’d probably ask to go with us,” Jonathon said and Riley nodded quickly while Milo scowled and Luna giggled. Jonathon shook his head at her. “It’s probably better if I go alone this time. Neither of you want to be there if I get caught by Tilly or Muriel,” he added, then went to see if he had anything appropriate to wear for a spying expedition.

Twelve

What have I done?

Leo must have repeated the question a thousand times since Jonathon fled the gala. But now, Leo was taking a more critical eye at past events and his actions as he changed out of his damp suit. He had given Markus the slip and had gone for another walk in the rain. The exercise and fresh air had cleared Leo’s head and the space and time alone had allowed him to see the past more clearly.

While it would have been easier and more convenient to lay the blame entirely at Sabine’s feet, Leo could only see how he had been complicit and gaslit himself. He shouldn’t have trusted her, but where did the responsibility fall when she had acted on his behalf and had, in subtle ways he was just beginning to understand, acted with his consent and cooperation? From Jonathon’s perspective it would have seemed like he had been cast aside and quickly abandoned, that Leo had used him and then mocked their love in the weeks and months after their separation.

Had the cruelty been intentional on Sabine’s part? And had Leo unwittingly played along and hurt Jonathon worse? What had Leo done exactly, and how would he go about making amends once he finally had a chance to talk to Jonathon? Leo had made it clear that he wasn’t leaving Manhattan and was prepared to camp in Central Park until Jonathon came out, if necessary.

And Leo didn’t want to blow that one precious shot when it finally arrived. He was taking account and would crawl over hot coals while listing his many misdeeds if that would satisfy Jonathon. And Leo would have a real plan, not just empty words, when the time came.

When the time came was the question, and was entirely in Jonathon’s hands. He had yet to make his presence known or acknowledge Leo’s attempts to reach him since the gala. It also appeared that the contact information Sabine had supplied Leo with all those years ago was wrong. Muriel and the housekeeper, Tilly, confirmed that a few of the letters and numbers had been altered. There was no telling where all of Leo’s letters and their calls had gone and it infuriated him, giving him one more crime to add to his ledger.

He should have ignored Sabine and followed his instincts and his heart when it told him that Jonathon should have gone with them to Vienna. Leaving Schönbühel without Jonathon had been his first mistake and was now one of Leo’s greatest regrets.

---