FEET OF CLAY
By Margaret Price

Feet of clay: a weakness or hidden flaw in the character of a greatly admired or respected person.

Chapter One
AWOL

The man had jumped out into the road so quickly that Dorian scarcely had time to avoid hitting him. He slammed on the brakes, swerved, and nearly skidded off the road. Once he recovered enough from the shock of what had almost happened, the Earl was out of the car, looking back at the lunatic he had almost run over.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” the Earl demanded, completely forgetting that he was in Germany and should have said this in German. Not that it mattered, as the man in the road replied in English.

“You should watch where you’re goin’!”

Oh, bugger, a Yank, Dorian thought with a groan. Then it occurred to him to wonder what the man was doing out in the middle of nowhere. He ceased to wonder as another man came up behind him and held a gun to his head.

“We need a ride, Blondie,” another American voice growled in his ear.

“In my car, I assume,” the Earl said calmly as he held up his hands.

“Hey! You catch on quick!”

Not too great a leap. Dorian wisely kept this thought to himself.

“You’re drivin’, Blondie,” the man in the road said as he came over to the car.

“Am I, indeed?”

The man behind the Earl grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. “And don’t try anything funny, like drivin’ to the police.”

“Do I sound like a local to you?” the Earl asked logically. “I have no idea where the local police are,” he then lied.

The man behind him apparently looked to the other man for guidance. He received a nod and then shoved the Earl back towards the car. “Take us wherever you’re goin’. And no tricks.”

“Certainly not.”

Dorian got back into the car, throwing a nervous glance at the two individuals as they got in, one in the front, one in the back. They were wearing military fatigues and he frowned. Stolen uniforms or AWOL soldiers? Then he wished he could think of an excuse to turn around. The only thing at the end of the road was the Major’s cabin.

“You got food, Blondie?” the man with the gun asked.

“There’s fresh food in the boot,” Dorian replied as he pulled the car back onto the road.

“In the what? Damn, you Brits talk funny.”

“He means the trunk, Charlie. Don’t you know anything?” the man in the back seat sneered.

“Ha, ha, ha,” came the sardonic reply. “Just cuz you spent time in England doesn’t make you an expert, Frank.”

“I know more than you!” Frank snorted.

Dorian drew a deep breath and told himself to ignore them. Let them fight amongst themselves. That way they’d leave him alone. With any luck, Klaus would arrive early and beat the shit out of the pair of them.

* * *

For the first time in nearly ten years, Dorian wasn’t pleased to see the cabin appear in the distance. He and Klaus had been able to keep their relationship from the world, meeting in secret every few months and then returning to business as usual. It was Dorian and Klaus at the cabin; Eroica and the Major to the world. Dorian treasured every second he spend in the remote location alone with the man he adored. Now these bloody Yanks had gone and intruded on their private sanctuary. Damn them.

Dorian pulled up to the cabin and started to turn the car around.

“Just park it,” Charlie ordered.

“I thought you might want it backed in,” the Earl said innocently.

“Why?”

“So you could leave faster. It’ll be easier than backing out,” the Earl replied logically. And it will let Klaus know that someone’s here.

“Good thinkin’, Blondie,” Frank said, giving Charlie a smug look. “See, he’s smarter than you, too, Charlie.”

Again, Dorian told himself not to get annoyed as he backed the car into position and then popped the trunk, startling the pair.

“What the hell…?” Charlie gasped.

Dorian gave him an innocent look. “I thought you wanted food.”

“Yeah. Right, food.”

Frank started to snicker and Charlie shot him an annoyed look.

“Shut up and get the bags, Frank.”

“Why me?” Frank protested.

“’Cause I got the gun!”

Dorian got out and went to the cabin door to unlock it, pushing it open and sighing heavily. Bugger, I wish I hadn’t come early today. He walked back to the car, leaning in to get some of the bags out. As he did, he slipped the long white scarf from around his neck and allowed it to drop to the ground. Then he picked up the bags and led the way into the house. Frank followed with the other bags of food.

The Earl led the way to the kitchen, placing the bags on the table. He noticed Charlie had put the gun into his belt so he could use both hands to rifle through the contents of the bags.

Dorian just stepped back and let the men ransack his groceries before putting away what was left. Anything to waste time. He cleared his throat as the pair started to devour their food.

“I say, you chaps don’t mind if I light the fire, do you? It can get rather cold at night.”

The pair exchanged glances and shrugged. Dorian took this as a yes and went to the fireplace, lighting a small fire. He could always add to it later, he thought. Something that would make it smoke like the devil.

He turned to look at the men that he would later learn were indeed AWOL soldiers from the Geilenkirchen Air Base. He wondered how long it had been since they had last eaten. They seemed to be ravenous. He caught himself on the verge of asking and decided against it. The less he knew the better. Just feed them, let them steal the car, and wait for Klaus to arrive.

* * *

Chapter Two
Killing Time

“Hey, Frank, check it out!” Charlie called happily. “There’s a bar over here.” It seemed to Dorian that the man had zeroed in on the bar almost immediately.

While the men worked their way through a week’s worth of groceries in one sitting, Dorian had taken a seat in one of the leather chairs in the living room and silently watched the fire—and the clock.

“Jackpot!” Frank exclaimed as he came to join his friend.

Dorian heaved a heavy sigh as the men started to ransack the bar. Good, get drunk and pass out.

Unfortunately, they only did the first of these. Then they started looking at the Earl in a way that made him distinctly uncomfortable.

“Hey, Blondie,” Charlie said suddenly, “how come you don’t got a woman here with you?”

“That’s really none of your business,” Dorian replied coolly.

Frank started to snicker. “Charlie, are stupid and blind? Can’t you tell Blondie’s a fag?”

Dorian ground his teeth upon hearing this but did not reply.

Charlie’s eyes widened and he gave the Earl a startled look. “That so, Blondie? You a fag?”

“That’s none of your business, either,” Dorian replied frostily.

“I think it is,” Charlie said as he crossed to him, yanking him out of his chair by the hair. “I was gonna look for a woman but I guess you’ll have to do.”

Dorian felt his heart in his mouth, and was further repulsed when the man demanded that he suck him off. It was all the Earl could do not to vomit. The men were dirty, sweaty, and smelled heavily of body odor.

As the man was attempting to force him to his knees, Dorian held up his hands. “Might I…make a suggestion first?”

Charlie’s eyes narrowed and he exchanged a puzzled look with Frank. “What?”

“Well, it’s obvious you chaps haven’t eaten in a while,” the Earl began slowly. “How long since you’ve had a hot bath?”

Frank gave a snort, waving a hand in the air. “Hot bath.”

“What say I give you boys a sponge bath,” Dorian offered, forcing a smile on his face.

“Sponge bath,” Charlie grunted. “That’s for pussies.”

“You’ve never had one of my sponge baths,” Dorian said in as seductive a voice as he could manage.

Frank gave a loud laugh. “He’s comin’ on to you, Charlie!”

Charlie still had a firm grip on Dorian’s hair and pulled his head back. “You comin’ on to me, faggot?”

Dorian gave him an innocent look. “You’re the one who asked for a blow job.”

Before Charlie could reply, Frank burst out laughing. “He’s gotcha there, Charlie.”

“Shut up!” Charlie turned back to the Earl and considered, finally thrusting him toward the stairs. “Okay, gimme a sponge bath, faggot. Show me what y’got.”

Dorian forced a smile on his face as he went up the stairs to run the bath. I’d rather have Klaus show you the business end of a Magnum, bloody bastard.

* * *

Dorian noticed that Charlie had apparently left his gun with Frank when he appeared in the bathroom without it. The Earl was somewhat amused when the man hesitated before undressing and getting into the large sunken tub. Doran took his time with the bath, making it appear as if it were all a part of an elaborate ritual.

After his back was scrubbed, Charlie leaned back, stretching out in the large tub and closing his eyes as the Earl sponged all the grime from his arms and legs. He seemed to have grease embedded in his skin, leading the Earl to wonder if he were a mechanic of some sort.

Dorian was inwardly grateful the man had accepted the offer of a bath. There was no way he would have been able to perform the requested task without losing the contents of his stomach.

After several minutes, it seemed the man might actually go to sleep. Then he suddenly grabbed Dorian by the wrist, pulling his hand into the tub and against his cock. “Don’t forget there, Blondie,” Charlie snickered.

Dorian felt his heart in his mouth again as the man moved his hand up and down the length of his cock. Then he felt the beginnings of an erection and closed his eyes, steeling himself for the inevitable.

“Of course,” Dorian said mildly, taking the man’s now erect member in his hand. “Must be thorough.”

“Yeah.”

Come on. It’s not like you’ve never done this before, the Earl told himself. He was a master at pleasuring. He just preferred that it be with a partner of his own choosing. The bulky, slightly overweight, sandy-haired American couldn’t hold a candle to Iron Klaus.

Charlie gave a groan of pleasure, bringing the Earl back to reality. Bugger, I’m on automatic pilot, he thought, suddenly realizing that he had completely zoned out while giving the bloody Yank a hand job.

Within only a few minutes, the man was breathing in short gasps that ended with him ejaculating into the warm water of the tub.

Christ, he’s got no staying power at all. Dorian pulled his hand from the water and got to his feet, going to get a towel. Just as he was about to go back to the tub, Frank appeared at the door.

“You stayin’ in there all night?” he sneered.

Dorian noticed his words were sounding slurred. Then his eyes fell on the nearly empty bottle in his hand and he wondered if the man had been happily drinking the contents of the bar the whole time he had been bathing his friend.

Charlie sloshed his way out of the tub, snatching the towel from the Earl’s a hand. “No, I’m not stayin’ here all night,” he replied indignantly as he crossed to the other man, only to recoil. “Damn, Frank, you stink!”

Frank scowled and looked down at himself, going on to sniff at his armpits. “Shit! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Dorian rolled his eyes and leaned back against the counter. It seemed clear he would be giving another sponge bath very shortly. He looked at the small, wiry Frank and could not help but wonder what had possessed these two to go AWOL. Not that it really mattered, so long as they kept on going.

* * *

Chapter Three
Play Time

“You give a right fine sponge bath, Blondie,” Frank said as he climbed out of the tub and toweled himself off.

Dorian drew a deep breath. You mean I give a right fine hand job, bloody bastard, he thought, forcing a smile on his face.

“Hey, Blondie, are all these clothes in here yours?” Charlie called out.

Dorian thought his heart was going to stop right then and there. Oh, God, please tell me he’s not mauling Klaus’s clothes. “Only some of them. The rest belong to the owner of the cabin,” he said in as even a voice as possible.

“I’ll bet I know what’s yours,” Charlie laughed. He appeared at the door with one of the Earl’s colorful shirts in his hands. He was also wearing Klaus’s robe, much to Dorian’s horror.

“Holy shit, Blondie, you really are a flamin’ queen, aren’t ‘cha?” Frank gasped, looking from the shirt to the Earl and back. Then he vanished from the bathroom, heading for the closet.

“Now that you chaps have eaten and had a nice bath,” Dorian said slowly, “why don’t you take the car and be on your way?”

“So you can call the police as soon as we’re around the corner?” Charlie countered.

Now, wouldn’t that be ironic? Eroica calling the police. “No, no,” Dorian said evenly. “There’s no phone. And cell phones don’t work out here either.” Klaus’s satellite phone does, but you don’t need to know that.

“I got a better idea,” Charlie said with a grin.

Dorian had a very bad feeling about this and suddenly felt cornered. “Better idea?”

Charlie threw a quick glance over to Frank, who had just returned to his side. “Yeah,” he said, and slowly descended on the Earl. “A much better idea.”

* * *

Dorian had fought, scratched, kicked, clawed, and even bit as he was dragged from the bathroom and then had his clothes torn from his body. Charlie had observed that the Earl was pretty enough to be a woman, and while this might have been true, but he was still a man, and stronger than a woman, which the AWOL Americans quickly learned.

Frank finally struck the Earl on the back of the head with the bottle he had brought with him, sending him to the floor in an unconscious heap.

“Shit, Frank! Don’t kill him yet,” Charlie snapped.

Frank pulled the top sheet off the bed and tore it into strips while Charlie dumped the limp Dorian on the bed. Within minutes, the Earl was spread-eagled face down on the bed, his hands and feet securely bound to the metal frame. This was a larger bed than had originally been in the cabin, large enough to accommodate two men comfortably. The frame was also new, and metal, since Klaus had broken the wooden one all those years ago.

Charlie went into the bathroom to get a cup of water, which he threw into Dorian’s face, partially reviving him. The Earl lifted his aching head and looked around fuzzily, not quite sure what was happening.

Charlie climbed onto the bed and he slid close enough to get his cock in the Earl’s face. “Suck me off, faggot,” he ordered.

“Lying down?” Dorian asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Lying down.”

“I’ll choke.”

“No y’won’t.” Charlie replied and grabbed the Earl by the hair, forcing his erect cock into his mouth.

Dorian gagged briefly, and tried to pull back, only to have his pounding head slammed forward again. Christ, he’s going to choke me. He closed his eyes, enduring the humiliating process. Again, he was inwardly glad the man was no comparison to Iron Klaus. If he were as well endowed as the German, the Earl would surely have strangled.

As before, Charlie came within only a few minutes, shooting his cum into the back of the Earl’s throat, causing him to gag. He sat back and smiled, giving Frank a knowing look. “You wanna have a go, Frank?”

“No,” Dorian moaned, pulling weakly at his bindings. Christ, what a nightmare to wake up to.

“Play nice, Blondie. We’ve still got the gun,” Charlie reminded as he climbed off the bed to allow Frank to take his place.

Dorian looked at the man’s cock and actually laughed. “Well, I’m not in danger of choking on that,” he said sarcastically. He braced himself for the retaliation he knew would follow. He was not disappointed.

Then Frank slid forward, forcing his cock into the Earl’s mouth. He had more staying power that his friend, and Dorian was certain might choke before the man finally came. This was not the case, fortunately, as the man finally climaxed with a strange, strangled noise, emptying himself in the Earl’s mouth.

“Not bad,” Frank said as he climbed off the bed. “But don’t faggots like it up the ass?”

“No!” Dorian screamed and finally started to fight his bindings in earnest. Dammit, Klaus, where are you!

“Yeah, that’s what I hear,” Charlie snickered.

Dorian closed his eyes as the men started to run their hands all over his body, groping and pawing at him.

Frank picked up the bottle and finished the last of its contents. “How loud are you when you come, Blondie?”

* * *

Chapter Four
Magnum Force

It had been difficult for Klaus to concentrate all day. In fact, over the last year, it was something that happened more and more frequently when he had a rendezvous with the Earl. This time, there was a reason for the Major’s distraction. He had a surprise planned. When the workday finally ended, he dismissed his men with his usual growl before leaving himself, having to force himself to look unhurried as he went to his car.

Things had actually gone smoothly for once. There had been no last minute missions to get in the way of his plans. No sudden appearance of the Chief to grill him on his personal life. Even the traffic wasn’t as heavy as it usually was. Klaus wanted to get to the cabin early to surprise Dorian, but work had prevented this happening. He couldn’t very well say he was leaving early to meet Eroica, whom everyone still assumed he hated with every fiber of his being and wished dead.

After the first few months of their relationship, they had settled into the roles of Iron Klaus and Eroica rather easily, staying “in character” whenever they were in the public eye. But at the cabin, it was Klaus and Dorian, lovers, the public masks left at the door. The tenth anniversary of their first meeting was only a few weeks away, yet there were still times when Klaus could not quite believe it had happened. He recalled with amusement the bizarre chain of events that had caused the masks to be stripped away. Caused him to see the real Dorian for the first time. His Dorian.

It was nearly dark when Klaus arrived at the cabin. He scowled when he saw all the lights on. Normally when Dorian was there first, he had the place filled with candles, a fire in the fireplace to set the mood. Then Klaus noticed the Earl’s car was parked pointing away from the building.

Fuck.

This was a signal they had worked out years ago. If the Earl was not alone, he would park the car this way to signal to Klaus that someone else was present. Iron Klaus couldn’t stay at the door until he learned who it was.

Klaus got out and went to the Earl’s car, hoping he could make out the footprints in the dirt to see how many people were inside. Then he saw the silk scarf the Earl had dropped when taking the bags inside. He picked it up, the frown on his face deepening. He had given the scarf to Dorian on the first anniversary of the…consummation of their relationship nearly ten years ago. He had even picked it out and purchased it himself. Dorian had told him time and again how he treasured it.

Dorian would not just drop this in the dirt. Not unless…

Klaus turned sharply to the cabin, his eyes snapping up to the second floor where the lights in the bedroom were also burning brightly. He drew his Magnum and crept to the porch, peeking in the first floor window. He went all the way around the cabin, checking every room. No one was on the first floor, including Dorian.

Klaus silently opened the side door and slipped in. He heard voices coming from the loft as he moved toward the stairs. When he heard what was being said, he felt sick and outraged. Then Dorian screamed and Klaus’s outrage turned into thoughts of homicide.

* * *

“That loosened you up real good, faggot,” Frank sneered. He was on the bed, thrusting his cock into Dorian’s bleeding body. “Come on, Blondie, let’s hear some more screamin’. You’re too quiet.” He gave a sharp thrust, pulling a loud cry from the exhausted Earl. “That’s it!”

“Ride ‘em, cowboy!” Charlie cheered as his friend pounded into the semi-conscious Dorian.

They had decided to take turns raping the Earl. Charlie had gone first, lasting only a few minutes, much to the amusement of Frank, who turned out to have a sadistic streak that was only amplified by the alcohol he’d consumed. He wanted to see just how loudly he could make the Earl scream.

He started by inserting the neck of the bottle he had just emptied into the Earl’s ass, which was already torn and bleeding from Charlie’s attack. When this did not get the desired result, he used his fingers, adding one after another until he had his whole hand deep in Dorian’s body.

Dorian fruitlessly fought his bindings as the man jammed the bottle and then his fingers into him. He screamed until his throat was raw. Then the man thrust his fist into him, he finally passed out.

Charlie got so aroused by all this that he shot his load onto the floor before Frank had extracted his hand. This made his partner laugh all the more, telling him that he had forfeited his next turn.

Charlie gave him a disgusted look before going to get another cup of water that was thrown into Dorian’s face, partially reviving him. Then Frank mounted the semi-conscious Earl and started thrusting into him with sadistic delight.

“I never knew faggots could be such a good fuck. Did you Charlie?”

“A piece of ass is a piece of ass,” Charlie replied dismissively as he lit a cigarette.

Frank’s eyes widened. “Hey, gimme one a those,” he said. “I’ll betcha that’ll make him scream even louder.”

From behind them, a cold angry voice said, “Do any more to him and I’ll put a bullet through your fucking heart.”

Charlie spun around, seeing the enraged Klaus standing at the top of the stairs with a very large gun in his hand. “Shit!” He had put the gun on a table a few feet away and made the mistake of reaching for it.

Klaus stepped forward and punched him in the face, putting every ounce of his rage into it. Charlie was knocked off his feet and sent sprawling. He landed with a broken nose and in an unconscious heap across the room. Klaus then turned an angry glare in Frank’s direction. “Get off him, now,” he ordered.

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll kill you.”

There was a look in the man’s eyes that told Frank he meant exactly what he said. He meekly climbed off the bed.

“On the floor, face down,” Klaus commanded. When Dorian gave a low moan, he threw a concerned look at him, his eyes taking in his injuries. He was battered, bruised, and bleeding.

“Don’t sweat it, man. He’s just a flaming queen,” Frank said dismissively.

Klaus’s head snapped around. His eyes narrowed as the sadistic little bastard got down on his knees. Then he could hold back his rage no longer and kicked the man in the face, sending him to the floor and breaking his jaw in the process.

Klaus snatched up one of the discarded strips from the shredded bed sheet and used it to bind the moaning man’s hands behind his back. He went on to do the same to the unconscious Charlie before going to check on Dorian.

Klaus took the Earl’s face in his hands. “Dorian?” he said gently. “Dorian, can you hear me?”

Dorian moaned, his eyes rolling in his head a moment before they struggled to focus on the man beside him. He gave a small whine and flinched away. “No more,” he moaned, “please…”

“Dorian, it’s me,” Klaus said gently, brushing the blood and sweat soaked hair out of his face. “It’s Klaus.” He started digging in his pocket for his penknife to cut the Earl free.

“Klaus…? Where are you? Why aren’t you here?” Dorian moaned pitifully.

His words were like a dagger through Klaus’s heart. He cut the Earl free, and carefully placed a towel against his torn rectum to staunch the bleeding. Then he covered him with a blanket, his eyes taking in the rest of his injuries at the same time. Christ, Dorian, what did these buggers do to you? How long has it been going on?

Dorian gave a whine of pain and Klaus gently stoked his cheek. “Dorian, I’m here,” he said softly. “It’s over.”

Dorian gave him an unfocused look, the familiar voice finally registering in his aching head. “Klaus…?” he said in a small voice.

“Yes. I’m here.”

“God, my head hurts,” Dorian moaned. He tried to move, but was in too much pain and groaned loudly. “My whole me hurts.”

“Just stay still,” Klaus instructed. And don’t die from shock. Please, Dorian, I know you’re stronger than you look.

Dorian wrapped his arms around him as best he could and started to cry, clinging tightly to his lover.

Klaus closed his eyes and for a brief instant, he felt like crying himself. Then his eyes fell on the men on the floor and he was Iron Klaus again. He gave them a murderous look. “Dorian, I have to go call for help,” he said firmly.

“No! Don’t leave me,” Dorian moaned, his grip tightening.

Never!

“I’m just going downstairs. You need medical attention. They won’t hurt you again,” Klaus said calmly. His voice hardened as he added, “If they try, I’ll kill them.”

Dorian nodded, accepting this reply. If anyone were capable of fulfilling this promise, it was Iron Klaus. He allowed himself to be pried loose and laid his aching head on the bed. He wanted to pull himself into a tight ball, but didn’t have the strength to move.

Klaus stood looking down at him a moment and had to fight the urge to kill the pair laying on the bedroom floor. He went to where the satellite phone was stored, calling the authorities and an ambulance. Then he went back upstairs to sit with the Earl and wait for his world to fall apart.

* * *

Chapter Five
Falling Apart

Iron Klaus was used to violence. It was a part of his very existence. He’d seen the ugliness that the world had to offer, the dark underbelly of society. He had lived with it, and in it, for decades and had learned to cope with violence and death. Not so Dorian; a man whose very soul cried out for beauty.

Klaus watched as the Earl was taken away in a med-evac helicopter. Then his attackers were taken away by ambulance. The whole time he waited for help to arrive, Klaus fought the urge to kill or maim the men who had done so much harm to Dorian’s beautiful body. He would later learn that the pair were the same ones who had been mentioned in a report that had crossed his desk earlier in the week. They were a couple of grease monkeys who had gone AWOL from NATO’s Geilenkirchen Air Base. They had also been wreaking havoc as they made there way, more or less, out of the country.

Once their injuries were treated, the pair would be on their way out of the country courtesy of the US government. They would also be on their way to a court-martial that would very likely end with lengthy jail time.

Klaus didn’t want to think about that too much. That was all in the future, and he was fixed very squarely in the present. Within an hour of his arrival at the hospital, the first of his alphabets appeared.

Klaus smiled to himself when Agent A appeared in the waiting room. It was the middle of the night, but here he was, ready to carry out his superior officer’s orders. The Major found himself wondering why he had never noticed this before.

“Major?” A said when Klaus did not immediately start to issue orders.

Klaus drew a deep breath. “I need a cigarette,” he said dully. And a very stiff drink. He got to his feet, leading the way outside.

A had rarely seen the Major like this. It took a great deal to put Iron Klaus into shock. Of course, walking into one’s secluded cabin to find Eroica being gang raped had to be one of those things.

“Shall I act as liaison with the Americans, sir?” A ventured.

Klaus took a long drag on his cigarette as he thought this over. “No, have B do it. He has a knack for that sort of thing. I’ll need you to coordinate everyone. I think this is gonna end up being a bureaucratic nightmare.” He paused, asking suddenly, “Are you still in touch with the Earl’s man Bonham?”

“Yes, sir. Would you like be to contact him?”

Klaus nodded. Bonham was one of two people who knew about himself and Dorian. His own butler being the other, since he was the one who prepared the cabin whenever the pair had a rendezvous. Klaus had been somewhat shocked by his butler’s attitude. He had expected the man to immediately call his father with the sordid details. He had not. In fact, he turned out to be a very reliable confidant who absolutely adored the Earl.

“Don’t give him the details,” Klaus said in a remarkably quiet voice. “Just tell him the Earl was injured and you’ll forward the facts as they become available.”

“Yes, sir.” A studied the Major a moment. “Should I have someone sent to your cabin to keep an eye on it for you?”

This question was met with a long contemplative silence causing A to wonder what the Earl had been up to when the men broke in. He had assumed that Eroica had broken into the cabin in yet another attempt to annoy the Major and was attacked while he was there. Until anyone learned otherwise, this was the speculation amongst all the alphabets.

“Yes,” Klaus said finally. “Send G. Tell him he’s to say he’s the housekeeper. They’ll ignore him. He’ll be able to find out more that way.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m supposed to give a statement to the police,” the Major said dully. “I may be out of touch for a while.”

A nodded, giving the Major another long look before leaving to carry out his orders.

Klaus watched him go and then sat down on the brick wall behind him where he finished his cigarette. He lit another and folded his arms as he waited for someone from the police to come get him so he could give his statement. As he did so, he felt his world starting to fall apart.

* * *

“Lord Gloria will be asleep for several hours,” the doctor was saying.

Klaus nodded. The amount of blood he had seen already told the officer that Dorian had suffered severe injuries during the attack. Notwithstanding the obvious anal tearing, he also had internal damage caused by the bottle and the man’s hand. Somehow, he had miraculously escaped having any cuts inflicted on his face when he was beaten. He did have a laceration on his scalp that needed stitches where he had been struck by the bottle, which had also caused a concussion.

Dorian had been in surgery to have the internal damage repaired when Klaus initially arrived, and was in recovery when the officer returned from giving his lengthy statement to the authorities.

Klaus endured the battery of questions he knew would be asked. He found it easier to handle it if he thought of it as a debriefing. His cabin was being gone over with a fine-tooth comb and he wondered what condition it would be in after the authorities finished traipsing through it. It wasn’t as though there weren’t enough evidence to get the bloody bastards put away until the turn of the next century.

Once he returned to the hospital, Klaus was able to find someone to give him information on the Earl’s condition. He lied and said that the Earl was a NATO contractor, and that he was the one responsible for his well-being while he was in the country. Then he listened in silence as the doctor gave him the litany of injuries Dorian had suffered.

* * *

Klaus was dozing in a waiting room when someone came for him, telling him that Dorian had finally been moved into a room. The Earl had woken briefly in the recovery room, but was apparently too confused because of the anesthetic to know exactly what was happening to him.

As Klaus followed the person to the Earl’s room, he found his mind was refusing to work, refusing to let him accept what was happening. What had happened. This was rather surprising. He lived with violence on a daily basis. He’d nearly been killed a few times, but had come away with his mind in focus.

He stood outside Dorian’s room for several minutes, steeling himself for what he might find within. What he found was the battered and now bandaged Earl, who was lying on his side, sound asleep. He had a wedge shaped pillow behind his back to keep him from rolling over, several others supporting the front of his body.

Klaus went to the bedside and looked down at the man, gently brushing a stray curl out of his bruised face. Dorian had a black eye and a swollen lip. There was a bandage on the back of his head that doubtless covered several stitches. He had ligature marks on his wrists from where he had been fighting the bindings, and no doubt had a matching set on his ankles.

Klaus pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed. He sat staring at the Earl for several minutes, reflecting on all that had happened over the last ten years. Then he remembered the surprise he had intended to give Dorian that very evening.

For the first time in his memory, Iron Klaus broke down and wept.

* * *

After several minutes, Klaus struggled to get hold of himself. The last thing Dorian needed was for him to go to pieces. He pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose, wiping the tears from his face with the back of one hand. Then he heard a small gasp from the door and froze. Shit!

“Major…?” a sheepish voice said.

Z! God fucking dammit!

Klaus knew there was no way he could hide the fact that he had been crying. His eyes were probably bright red by this time, and his face would be streaked from tears. He slowly turned his gaze to the door, seeing his stunned subordinate standing rooted to the spot, his eyes wide. The awkward silence dragged on for more than a minute, neither man knowing what to say.

Finally, Klaus drew a deep breath. “What are you doing here?” he asked in as even a tone as he could manage.

Z had to struggle to find his voice. “Sir, A sent me so you wouldn’t…” His voice trailed off. So you wouldn’t be forced to sit with the Earl. Christ, how long has this been going on?

“I see.” Klaus continued to stare at the younger man.

The look caused images of frozen tundra to flash through Z’s mind. He cleared his throat nervously and took a small step away from the door. “Major, I have top secret clearance,” he reminded. “But if you believe I would be less of a security risk in Alaska…” He left the sentence unfinished, but the meaning was clear.

The officer’s eyes flickered. “I don’t think that will be necessary, Z.” He turned back to look at the still sleeping Dorian.

Z breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. “Sir,” he said cautiously, “I’ll sit with the Earl while you get some sleep.”

“Later. I…need to be here when he wakes up.”

“Yes, sir.” Before Z could think of anything else to say, the door opened behind him. Fortunately, he was still standing in front of it, and it bumped into his back. He gave the Major a steady look before turning and slipping out, coming face to face with a startled Agent A.

“Z? Why aren’t you…?”

“The Major asked me to wake him in thirty minutes,” Z replied as he quickly closed the door.

A blinked and then nodded. It was never wise to speculate about the Major’s reasoning.

“I was just about to get him a cup of coffee,” Z went on, heading down the hall.

A glanced at his watch and groaned inwardly. At this hour, he would much rather be in bed. Thank goodness he had the best wife in the world. When the call came, Gladys had wordlessly made sure his suit and tie matched properly before going back to bed again. He would have to make sure he did something very special for the woman when this was over.

“I could use some coffee myself,” A said as he followed Z. He threw a quick glance back at the Earl’s room. “I doubt the Major’s eaten anything,” he went on to say.

Z pushed the button for the lift. “We’ll get him something to go with the coffee, then.”

“I could use something myself.”

Z did not reply waiting in silence as the lift doors opened in front of him.

“This is gonna be a real mess, Z,” A said finally.

Z looked at him and drew a deep breath. You don’t know the half of it.

* * *

Chapter Six
Chink In The Armor

When the alphabets returned, they found the Major on his way to the waiting room near the lifts. Z was relieved to see his commanding officer had been able to pull himself together in the interim and was more or less back to his usual, impatient self again.

“I got you your coffee, sir,” Z said, holding out the paper cup.

The Major took it automatically and went into the waiting room, having been sent from the room when a doctor and nurse arrived to examine the Earl and change his dressings. Klaus dropped into a chair and closed his eyes a moment. It was obvious to his men that he was completely exhausted. They had seen him push himself to his physical limits numerous times on missions.

“We brought you some breakfast, too, sir,” A offered, handing the Major the paper bag he was carrying. While the Major ate, A gave him an update on things. G had reported that the Americans had arrived at the cabin at about the same time he did and were going over it with the police. Apparently, the AWOL soldiers had left a trail of havoc in the surrounding area and the authorities were looking for evidence to connect them to several break-ins.

Because the Air Base the men were from was a NATO facility, B had no problems contacting them to begin coordinating things at that end. A had not heard back from Bonham yet, and speculated that he would no doubt hear something later in the day, as it was only dawn in England.

After A left, the Major and Z sat quietly for several minutes before Klaus finally broke the silence. “What do the others believe Eroica was doing at my cabin?”

Z looked up sharply, several things flashing behind his eyes before he replied. “When A called me, he speculated that the Earl was there to annoy you, sir.”

Klaus nodded. “And what will they say when G reports that he has his clothes hanging in my closet?” He was impressed when Z’s face only flashed with surprise momentarily before it was neutral again. The boy had learned well.

“If it were me, sir,” Z began slowly, “I’d think he was doing what he did in Florence.”

The Major sat back and closed his eyes, a small smile coming to his face at the memory. The incident had happened before he and the Earl became lovers, when he was still trying to get the thief out of his life. Eroica had been hired for the mission, and by some unfortunate happenstance, had been put in an adjoining room with the Major. Eroica had happily taken advantage of this, placing all his belonging in the same room as the Major’s, inducing a screaming fit from Klaus, who had wanted to kill the Earl at the time. He had come very close to throwing him out a window, but had settled for throwing all his belongings out the window instead.

“You never suspected?” Klaus asked finally.

“No, sir.”

“And now that you’ve seen the chink in Iron Klaus’s armor?”

Z shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had already learned the last thing he ever expected to about his commanding officer; a man who guarded his personal life and had shunned intimacy in any form for as long as he had known him. “It’s…not my place to say, sir.”

“Dammit, Z, this isn’t easy for me!” Klaus thundered.

“Nor me, sir,” Z shot back smoothly. He met the officer’s challenging gaze steadily. “How long has it been going on?”

Klaus blinked and had to fight back the anger that flashed up at the agent’s tone. No, you started this. “It will be ten years in three weeks time.”

Z’s mouth dropped open. He had expected to be told a few months. “Sir, you’ve always kept your personal life personal,” he began slowly, lowering his eyes.

“You know bloody well what I’m asking, Z.”

“Major, when I learned I was being assigned to your team, I thought it was a mistake. I didn’t think I was good enough to be assigned to the best officer NATO intelligence has. I’ve respected and admired you from the moment I became one of your alphabets.” Z’s eyes snapped up and he unflinchingly met the officer’s intense gaze. “That hasn’t changed. If you ordered me to cross the Sahara desert barefoot, I’d do it.” To his amazement, a small smile twitched at the edges of the Major’s mouth.

“Thank you, Z,” Klaus said mildly, much to his subordinate’s shock. He turned to look down the corridor.

“Sir, who else…?”

“Knows?”

Z nodded.

“The Earl’s man Bonham and my butler.” Klaus turned a steady gaze in the young man’s direction. “And now you. To my knowledge, you three are the only ones who know.”

And I found out by accident. Fuck. “I won’t break your confidence, sir.”

“Good. I’m gonna have to rely on you to assist in looking after Eroica while he’s here.”

“Of course, sir.”

Z finally allowed himself to relax. It wasn’t uncommon for the Major to wait in the hospital when a team member was first brought in. Normally, he would learn all the initial details and then hand off the duty of staying with the injured party to his alphabets.

The fact that this injured party was Eroica might have raised eyebrows had he not been in the Major’s cabin at the time. And the fact that the men who attacked him were AWOL from a NATO facility just reinforced the reasons that the Major would want to hear the full details himself.

Z saw the Major rub his eyes and sit back again. The man was clearly exhausted, physically and mentally. Z cleared his throat, gaining the officer’s attention again. He looked pointedly at the clock on the wall. “Shall I wake you in thirty minutes, Major?”

* * *

Chapter Seven
A Bit Of A Problem

Z saw someone heading purposefully in the direction of the waiting room and sat up straighter. “Major,” he said warningly.

The Major’s eyes snapped open and he was instantly awake. “What?”

“Someone’s coming this way.”

Klaus turned to the door just as the doctor who had shooed him from the Earl’s room appeared, a grave expression on his face. The Major frowned as the man took a seat opposite him and then threw a quick glance in Z’s direction.

“Agent Z is one of my men, doctor,” the Major said in reply to the unspoken question. “He’ll be assisting in looking after the Earl until his own people arrive.”

The doctor nodded and then drew a deep breath. “I know you’re waiting to question the Earl, Major,” he began slowly.

Klaus’s eyebrows went up. He had not stated the reasons he had remained and was somewhat surprised to find everyone so willing to supply him with valid excuses.

“There’s…a bit of a problem, I’m afraid…” the doctor went on.

“Has Lord Gloria’s condition deteriorated?” the Major asked, having to fight the panic that suddenly rose up in him.

The doctor shook his head. “No, no. He’s quite stable. It’s just…he can’t remember anything.”

“Of the attack, you mean?”

The doctor shook his head again, explaining that Dorian had woken up while his dressings were being changed, and was at a complete loss as to how he came by his injuries. Considering the fact that he had suffered a concussion, the physician wasn’t too surprised. It was when he started asking some routine questions that the extent of the memory loss came out. “I asked him the date, and he was quite adamant in his reply.”

Klaus’s mouth dropped open when he heard the date Dorian had given. It was the day before their first meeting at the cabin. Before the Major had stopped trying to rid himself of the Englishman and had taken him as a lover.

“Is it permanent?” Klaus heard himself asking.

“No way of telling this soon,” the doctor replied. “We’ll have to run some more tests. See if there was any brain damage.”

Klaus sat back and thought this over, feeling what was left of his shattered world crumbling to dust. Ten years...gone in a matter of hours. I should’ve killed those bloody Yanks.

“I’m ordering a Psych evaluation, too,” the doctor was saying. “It’s more than likely the trauma triggered hysterical amnesia.”

The officer nodded as he got to his feet. Knowing what he did of Dorian’s fragile psyche, this seemed more likely. The Earl would have mentally retreated from the ugliness of the attack, although why he would blot out ten years was a mystery.

“Is it alright if I speak to him?” the Major asked.

“Major, he’s lost ten years,” the doctor pointed out.

“I’ve known him much longer than that.”

The physician considered and then shrugged. “Just try not to upset him too much,” he cautioned. “This has all been a bit of a shock.”

Klaus exchanged a knowing look with Z, who raised his eyebrows. The man didn’t know the half of it.

* * *

Z remained on guard in the hall while the Major went in to talk with Eroica.

The curtain had been pulled around the Earl’s bed and he jumped when the Major moved it aside. Dorian was still on his side and had a pillow pulled under his chest. He opened his eyes as the officer moved to the bedside. “Eroica…?”

Dorian looked at him, moaned, and closed his eyes. “Go away, Major. I’m too tired to fight with you.” This was apparently true, for he was asleep almost immediately.

* * *

When Agent A reappeared to give a status report, he found Z sitting patiently at the Earl’s bedside reading a book. Eroica was apparently sound asleep, as was the Major who was on one of the other beds in the room.

Z looked up when the door opened. He put down his book and went to the door, going out in the hall to speak with A, telling him of the doctor’s suspicions and that the Major wanted to question the Earl himself before drawing any conclusions.

A explained that when the Chief learned of the incident, he was going to have someone else assigned to handle the case. However, this changed when the commanding officer at the Air Base learned that the cabin owner was Iron Klaus, going on to insist that the Major be involved and requesting to meet with him, which Agent B was attempting to handle. On top of this, the US military wanted a debriefing with the Major as well.

A then told Z about G’s report from the cabin. Just as Z speculated, when the Earl’s belongings were discovered in the Major’s closet, the assumption was that he was doing the same thing he had done in Florence.

Z nodded, throwing a quick glance back at the door. “I think I’ll hold off telling the Major about G’s report until the Earl’s men get there,” he said mildly.

A agreed. “Speaking of which, tell the Major I was able to contact Bonham.” He thought a moment, glancing at the door. “Maybe we’ll be able to arrange for him to have the Earl’s things removed before the Major gets another look at his place.”

A small smile curled the edges of Z’s mouth. “I’ll discuss that with Bonham when he gets here.”

“Good.” A drew a deep breath. “This is really gonna be a mess, isn’t it?”

* * *

Eroica had woken briefly a few times, only to fall back asleep almost immediately. Z woke the Major at the time he requested and then passed on all the information from A. After this, the Major sent Z to get him some coffee and something to eat.

Z had not been gone five minutes when Eroica woke up. He looked at the man sitting at the bedside and groaned. “Oh, bugger, this is all I need,” he said, closing his eyes. “Come to gloat, Major?”

The words were like a dagger through Klaus’s heart. This was definitely not the time to go into their secret relationship. “Do you really believe I’m that petty?” the Major asked mildly.

“You’re joking? After what you did with that drug?”

Klaus sat back and nodded. That had indeed been a cruel trick to play on the Earl. “The doctor tells me you don’t remember what happened…” he began slowly.

Eroica tried to change position and winced. Even with all the painkillers he was getting, finding a comfortable position was next to impossible. “No, I don’t remember. The last thing I remember was getting ready to meet you at that bloody cabin. Next thing I know, I’m waking up here with a doctor telling me it’s ten years later and I’ve been bloody raped,” he spat back.

Klaus shifted uncomfortably in his seat, lowering his eyes, which Dorian mistook for his previous discomfort pertaining to anything even remotely sexual in nature.

“You must’ve laughed your ass off when you heard what happened to me, Major,” Eroica went on venomously. “Did you think the perverted faggot finally got what he deserved?”

Klaus’s eyes snapped up, anger flashing in them. “I didn’t hear what happened to you, Lord Gloria. I walked in on it.”

Eroica blinked. “What…?”

“You were attacked at my cabin. When I arrived, they were in the middle of…” the Major’s words trailed off and he gave him a piercing look. “When I saw what they were doing to you, I wanted to kill them.”

Eroica’s mouth dropped open. “But you didn’t.”

“No. I broke one bastard’s jaw and the other one’s nose.”

The stunned Eroica studied the officer’s outraged expression a moment. The Major would go into protective mode at the strangest times, and the Earl found himself thankful that this had apparently been one of those times. “Then…I thank you for rescuing me, Major. I’m sure it was…distasteful for you to have to do that.” Dark green eyes remained locked on his face, an odd look flashing behind them. Self-loathing, perhaps? You’re really hating yourself for having to save me aren’t you, Major? Christ, I’ve lost ten years and it doesn’t seem to’ve made one bit of difference.

“Agent A has been in contact with Bonham,” the Major was saying. “Is there a message you wish him to pass along?”

Eroica winced as he shifted position again. Damnation, those buggers must’ve torn me apart. “You’re being very…accommodating, Major, considering…”

“Lord Gloria, you were attacked, beaten, and raped in my cabin by two idiot Yanks who went AWOL from a NATO Air Base,” the Major said succinctly. “I told the doctors that you’re a NATO contractor and my responsibility until your people get here.”

The Earl drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Then I supposed they should get here quickly so you won’t have to put up with me very long.”

“With NATO involved, I’ll have to ‘put up with you’ as you put it, until this is resolved.” Klaus got to his feet. It was all he could do not to take the other man in his arms and hold him, which would only serve to convince the Earl that he had lost his mind.

Eroica tried to put on a brave face. “Does that mean I’ll have the pleasure of your company from time to time, Major?”

“Very probably. They’re supposed to be moving you into a private room later on today.”

“Make sure you don’t lose me,” the Earl said with half-hearted playfulness.

Klaus gave him a pained look. I already have. He glanced at the door. “Agent Z will be looking after you until your people get here.”

Eroica gave a small grunt, pulling a pillow under himself and leaning forward. “Oh, sure. Now that I’m not a threat to your ‘good German boy’ you assign him to me.”

* * *

Chapter Eight
Healing Process

The Major had to force himself to return to his daily routine. The investigation into the Earl’s attack became bogged down in miles of red tape because of all the different government agencies involved. A British national attacked on German soil by Americans from an Air Base under NATO’s jurisdiction. Just as Klaus predicted, it was a bureaucratic nightmare in which he found himself squarely in the center simply because he was the owner of the property where the incident took place.

Eventually, things started to settle down and sort themselves out. Agent B turned out to be an excellent choice as the NATO liaison, smoothing many a fevered brow. Many of those involved commented on this, which he found amusing. It was nothing compared to his very demanding commanding officer.

Once the Major’s cabin was released as a crime scene, Agent G was reassigned to assist Z on hospital duty. Bonham and some of the others from Eroica’s gang arrived to look after the Earl, while the Agents remained as a very visible NATO presence.

A battery of tests were run on Dorian, all of which were inconclusive. His concussion may or may not be the cause of his amnesia. The psychiatric report was equally vague. When the Earl showed no signs of recovering the lost ten years, the Major arranged to meet with the doctor who had done the evaluation.

* * *

“I don’t know what you expect me to tell you, Major,” Doctor Westphal said as the officer took a seat. “I’m bound by confidentiality.”

“I’m counting on that, doctor,” the Major replied, “because what I have to say must remain in the strictest confidence.”

Westphal scowled. “I…don’t understand. I though you were here about Lord Gloria.”

“I am.” The Major drew a deep breath. “Ten years ago, the Earl and I…became lovers.”

The psychiatrist’s eyes widened and he sat back in his chair. “Exactly ten years ago?”

“The day after the date he gave when he woke up,” the Major replied.

The doctor sat thoughtfully a moment. Then he began asking questions, attempting to understand why the Earl would block out ten years of his life. It seemed that he had blocked out all the time he and the Major had spent together at the cabin, but the reason for this was still unknown. Finally, the doctor asked the circumstances surrounding the beginning of the relationship.

The Major shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The incident was embarrassing to say the least. He explained about the Earl’s relentless pursuit and his brainstorm surrounding how he planned to rid himself of the man. He went on to explain that the Earl had learned what he had done and taken steps to confront him during their meeting at the cabin. A confrontation in which the Major came very close to raping the Earl himself.

“You…raped the man?” Westphal said, trying not to sound as shocked as he was.

“Hell no,” the Major replied. “I came bloody close. It scared the shit out of him, though. And me.”

“Major, it’s entirely possible that Lord Gloria connected the two events when he was concussed.”

The Major’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Both events took place in the same room, yes?”

“Ye-es,” the Major replied slowly.

Westphal nodded, giving a small grunt. “Then I think the initial diagnosis of hysterical amnesia is a valid one. Lord Gloria seems to’ve blocked both events and all the time in between.”

The Major closed his eyes, sighing heavily. “Wonderful,” he moaned. “So…what’s the treatment?”

“I’m afraid the only treatment is time, Major. Until the Earl is ready to face what happened, his mind will block out what’s too painful for him to face.”

“Are you saying he might never remember?”

“Unfortunately, that is a possibility.” Westphal gave the officer a sympathetic look. “There are support groups you can contact for yourself, Major,” he said mildly.

The Major looked up sharply. “That would be very…difficult,” he replied. “Only three people, and now yourself, know anything about this.”

“There are on-line groups, Major,” the doctor replied. “You can attend anonymously.”

“I’ll think about it,” the officer said as he got to his feet.

“Major, the more information you have, the better you can help your partner.”

The Major turned back to look at him, giving him a piercing look. My partner. God, ten years—gone.

* * *

The Major appeared at the Earl’s room the day he was to be released from the hospital. The room was jammed with flowers and gifts, which were to be distributed to other patients after the Earl’s departure.

“Come to make sure I leave the country, Major?” Eroica said coolly. He was fully dressed and seated on the bed, patiently waiting for Bonham to arrive.

“I thought you were staying in Germany until…”

“I was making a joke,” Eroica sighed. “Not a very good one, apparently.”

“I’m here to see you get out of the hospital with a minimum of red tape,” the Major said mildly.

“Ah. Well, that makes sense.” Eroica waved a hand at a stack of official looking documents. “So far, I’ve received written and verbal apologies from your government, the American government, NATO headquarters, and the commanding officer of Geilenkirchen Air Base,” he informed. “But not one bloody word from the bastards who put me here.”

Before he realized what he was saying, Klaus replied, “If it means anything, I’m sorry it happened.” His eyes were fixed in the distance, a pained look briefly flashed behind them.

Eroica’s mouth dropped open and he stared at the officer in stupefied amazement. “My God, was that actually a positive expression of concern for my well-being, Major?” he said sarcastically.

Anger briefly flashed across the Major’s face as he returned to reality. “Yes.”

“Why would you be sorry?”

“Because…” The Major fought to stay in control of himself. “Because among other things, it’s made you bitter.”

“I’ve lost ten years of my life! Wouldn’t you be bitter?”

Oh, God, Dorian, if only you knew what you were asking. Klaus met his gaze. “There are things that happened over the last ten years that…” He broke off, wondering how best to proceed. “That I’m sorry you’ve forgotten.”

“Really?” Eroica’s eyes narrowed.

Klaus decided to plow onward. “I spoke with your doctor…”

“Which one?”

“Doctor Westphal.”

“The shrink. Great. You’re talking to my shrink now. What did you tell him? I’m a sick pervert who should be locked up?”

“You’re being bitter again.”

“Sue me.”

Klaus sighed heavily. “Your memory loss starts the day before we met at the cabin.” He checked himself before adding “the first time.” In his present mood, the Earl would never believe it.

Eroica tossed his hair back and then regretted it, a hand going to his head. “So?”

“So…if you really want to get those ten years back…” Damn, why is this so hard? “Doctor Westphal suggested that we return there.”

“So I can confront you for the conniving bastard that you are again?”

“If you like.”

“Major…”

“Lord Gloria, events…did not play out as you believe.”

Eroica’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why? What happened?”

“I’m not gonna tell you more. You won’t believe me anyway. You either come back with me or you don’t. It’s up to you.” Please, Dorian, say you’ll come!

The Earl was silent a long time before he sighed heavily. “Do I have your word you won’t…do anything to me?”

Klaus was clearly horrified, his eyes widening. “Do you think I’m like those bloody Yanks?”

“You won’t hit me?”

“Fuck, no.”

“Even if I piss you off?”

Klaus gave him a sideways glance. Now the Earl was just baiting him. “Don’t piss me off.”

Eroica found he could not help but smile. Pissing off the Major was such a delightful pastime. And despite the fact that ten years had past since the incident with the drugs, it was still very fresh in the Earl’s mind. “Alright. I’ll go along with this, Major. Although I don’t know what you hope to accomplish.”

I’m hoping to get my Dorian back, Klaus thought longingly. Before he could say anything, Bonham arrived and looked from the Major to the Earl and back.

“Was there something you needed, Major?” Bonham asked evenly.

The Major’s eyes flickered. “Just the address where Lord Gloria will be staying.” He turned his gaze to the Earl. “Your stingy bug will be delighted to know that NATO is picking up the cost of your medical expenses.”

Eroica’s eyebrows went up, a delighted smile coming to his face. “Then I must make sure I take my time to make a proper recovery.”

* * *

Chapter Nine
Return Trip

Klaus tried to watch Dorian’s reactions as they approached the cabin. It was difficult to do while driving. He had arranged to take the week off under the pretext of wrapping up things and getting his cabin back in order. He parked the car and looked over at the Earl, who simply shrugged.

“Anything?” Klaus asked evenly.

“Major, I already told you that I remembered coming here to…” Dorian sighed heavily. “To get things ready for our meeting.”

“Yes. But you don’t remember what happened at that meeting.”

“Nothing constructive, obviously,” Dorian said coolly. “I don’t know what you think this’ll prove.” He folded his arms, and looked as though he might refuse to get out of the car. “And I still don’t understand why you’re trying to be nice to me.”

“That’s because you’re still mad about something that happened ten years ago.” Klaus got out of the car and went to open the front door. As he kicked at the light dusting of snow on the porch, it occurred to him just how much time had passed since the incident. It was early spring then. Now it was autumn with winter fast approaching. He turned to see the Earl reluctantly getting out of the car and looking around, possibly to get his bearings.

Klaus led the way inside, where he again waited for the reluctant Dorian to follow.

“Okay, I’m here,” Dorian said gruffly, folding his arms again. “It looks…about the same.” Then he rubbed his arms with his hands. “Colder outside.” He glanced around, seeing the same dark wood panels and leather furniture he remembered when he was there the first time. The room just screamed masculinity. It just screamed Klaus.

“Why don’t you look around while I light the fire?” Klaus said as he got down before the fireplace. Once the cabin had been released as a crime scene, Klaus had had it cleaned from top to bottom and all the bedding completely replaced. Then he had his butler make certain everything was in its place, and the kitchen restocked.

Dorian turned an impatient glare in his direction. “Major, you don’t have to pretend anymore, okay?”

“Pretend?”

Dorian sighed heavily. “Yes, pretend. We both know what I was doing here when those men…” He closed his eyes and counted his blessings for the hundredth time that he did not remember the cause of his still healing injuries.

“Do we?” Klaus did not even turn. The logs were already in the grate. He opened the damper and pulled out his lighter, setting the kindling alight. Within a minute, the fire was crackling loudly.

Dorian waited until the officer stood up and turned to look at him before going on. “You know perfectly well I was here to annoy you, as usual.” He waved a hand to take in the room. “I may not remember what happened at that meeting ten years ago, but I do remember you had no intention of giving me a chance of a snowball in hell of proving myself to you.”

“That may have been true initially, Dorian, but it isn’t what happened,” Klaus said firmly, crossing to stand before him. “The reason you were here the day you were attacked was to meet me.”

“To…” Dorian blinked. “You called me Dorian.”

“I always call you Dorian here.”

“What?”

“The meeting ten years ago didn’t go the way either of us intended. We…” Klaus paused, drawing a deep breath. “You pissed me off so badly that I broke the bed and I came damn close to raping you,” he admitted guiltily. “That’s why Doctor Westphal thinks you’re blocking everything.” He pointed to the kitchen. “Later on, you cooked for me over there.”

“I cooked? You tried to rape me, and then I cooked?” Dorian tried to make light of it, brushing the stray curls from his face. He had his hair pulled back in a thick ponytail to cover the bare spot where the stitches had been. The result was ineffectual.

“You told me you learned from a French chef who was trying to get you to sleep with him.”

Dorian’s mouth dropped open. “I told you that?”

Klaus nodded. “Then we walked down to the lake, had to run back in the rain, and got soaking wet. I made a fire—” He glanced over to the fireplace. “—like that one.”

“I didn’t know you could tell such romantic stories, Major,” Dorian said caustically. “But you should’ve ended it with us kissing in front of the fire.”

The officer’s eyes flickered. “You mean like this?” Klaus took the Earl’s face in his hands and kissed him very tenderly on the mouth.

Dorian froze for a full second and then pulled away. “What’re you doing?”

“I thought that was obvious.”

Too stunned to speak, Dorian stood staring, a hand to his mouth. “Major…”

Klaus drew a deep breath. “We’ve been lovers from that day on.”

“What?” Dorian continued to stare, not quite able to take it in. He put a hand to his spinning head and looked around the room. It seemed he might bolt through the door any second. “I’ve gone mad.”

Klaus actually laughed. “That’s what I used to say.” He saw several things flash behind the Earl’s bright blue eyes and wondered what was going through his mind.

“You’re serious?” Dorian said finally.

Klaus rolled his eyes. He never expected that it would be this hard to convince the man that he had succeeded in winning his affections. “Yes, I’m bloody serious.” The next thing he knew, Dorian was hugging so tightly he thought he might hurt himself. At first, he thought the Earl was trembling. Then he realized he was in tears.

“Why’re you crying?” Klaus asked softly, putting his arms around Dorian, which only seemed to make things worse. “I thought you’d be pleased.”

“Pleased? I forgot,” Dorian sobbed. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, and now you’re telling me that…I’ve lost all that.”

Klaus had to struggle a little to break the embrace in order to look him in the eye. “Doctor Westphal said you’ll remember…”

“What if I don’t? What if I never do?”

“Then, we’ll just have to create some new memories.” The response to this was the Earl hugging him tightly a second time.

“Oh, Major, I’ve been saying so many horrible things to you all this time. How could you let me?”

“You were angry,” Klaus said mildly. “I forgive you.”

Dorian tightened his grip and continued to sob. “Oh, Major, I love you so much.

“You used to call me Klaus.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.” The officer broke the embrace again, and gave the Earl a steady look. “When we’re here, Iron Klaus and Eroica are to be left at the door.”

“Oh, God…ten years…” Dorian moaned.

Klaus wiped the tears from Dorian’s face with a caressing hand. “Let me show you what you taught me in all that time.”

* * *

“I’m afraid.”

Dorian’s words actually startled himself. He had gotten as far as the top of the stairs and froze. The bed was new. Bigger than the one he remembered. Big enough to comfortably accommodate two six-foot tall men.

Klaus was holding his hand, having led the way up the stairs. As he stood watching the Earl, he was reminded of himself their first time together. Tentative, hesitant…scared to death. Klaus leaned close to Dorian’s ear. “Just tell me to stop and I will.”

Dorian turned sharply back to look at him. The words sounded strange coming from the Maj—no, Klaus. Coming from Klaus. A soft kiss was being planted on his mouth and he closed his eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to burst forth again. God, how could I ever forget being with you?

“You always used to tell me to relax,” Klaus said as he gently caressed the Earl’s arms. “Do I have to tell you that now?”

Dorian gave a nervous laugh. “That sounds like me.” He received another soft kiss in reply. Then the buttons of his shirt were being undone, very slowly. Caressing hands were rubbing his chest, up to his shoulders, over his arms, expertly pushing the material off his body. Then his pants were being unfastened and gently pushed down, followed by his underwear.

My God, Klaus, you’re so good at this. Did I really teach you all that? Dorian looked the other man in the eye before he started undressing him, slowly, tentatively. He still couldn’t believe it was true; that the officer wasn’t going to panic any second and run screaming into the night.

When he had Klaus down to his underwear, he started kissing his chest, moving his way downward. His fingers slipped in between the officer’s skin and the material of his underwear. He slid it downward as he continued to kiss his incredibly flat stomach, moving down to…

“Oh, my God!”

Dorian practically fell over backwards when Klaus’s manhood was revealed. He ended up on his still healing backside, but didn’t even notice any pain; a hand went to his mouth, his eyes growing wide.

Unlike the first time, Klaus found the Earl’s reaction to his considerable endowments amusing.

Dorian looked up, his eyes sparkling. “Oh, Major! Magnificent!”

“You don’t want to stuff and mount it again, I hope,” Klaus said mildly.

“Oh, God what I want to do with that…that…” Dorian waved a hand, finding himself at a loss for words.

Klaus saw a very familiar amorous expression come to the Earl’s face. He also saw an immediate erection and held out a hand. “I think the bed will be more comfortable than the floor, don’t you?”

* * *

Chapter Ten
Don’t Panic

“Oh, Klaus, how could I’ve forgotten all this?” Dorian purred. “Damn those bloody Yanks!”

He was lying on his stomach while Klaus gently massaged him with oil. The officer was in the process of slowly moving down his back from his shoulders, working the knots from his muscles. It was a ritual they had kept since their first time together, when Klaus had been too nervous to relax, only to discover how relaxing and pleasurable Dorian’s gentle touch could be.

“Feels good?”

“Feels wonderful,” Dorian sighed, closing his eyes and smiling contentedly.

Klaus gave an amused grunt as he continued down the Earl’s back, moving to his legs. First one, then the other. Then he hesitated. The next step in this ritual was to initiate intercourse. Before they had even started, the Earl had nervously allowed the officer to check his now healing injuries. The tearing he had suffered had been very cleanly stitched, and he was healing well, but Klaus doubted the Earl’s body was sufficiently healed for him to be able to take his sizeable member inside himself yet.

He decided to massage Dorian’s chest instead and moved his hands up to his hips intending to turn him over. The instant he had a firm grip on his hips, he almost jumped out of his skin when Dorian practically screamed, “No!”

It was all Klaus could do not to fall off the bed. “Dorian…?”

The Earl turned on his side, his eyes wild with blind panic. “Please, no!” He started to pull himself into a protective ball.

Shit, he’s remembering when I almost raped him. “Dorian,” Klaus said gently. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Dorian blinked, looking at the officer with unfocused eyes. He was breathing heavily and looked absolutely terrified. When Klaus spoke again, the familiar voice finally registered in his brain and his face cleared, his body relaxing. “Oh, Major,” he moaned. He sat up and hugged the other man, clinging to him as if afraid he would vanish into thin air if he let go. “I don’t know what came over me. Just for a second, I was… I don’t know. I…panicked.”

“This was a bad idea,” Klaus said firmly, holding the trembling man in his arms. Dorian needed time to get over the trauma. The last thing he needed was to be pressured into something he wasn’t ready for. “What the hell was I thinking? You were raped and I’m…”

“Klaus, I don’t remember that.”

Klaus sighed heavily. “You must do, or you wouldn’t’ve reacted like that.” He kissed the top of Dorian’s head and stroked his hair, making certain not to touch where the bump on the back of his head had been. Then he told the still shaken man exactly what had happened in the bedroom ten years before. The full details of the confrontation that nearly ended with the enraged officer raping the petrified Earl, and the events that followed.

Dorian shook his head. “Perhaps it’s better I don’t remember that first bit. It sounds…terrifying.”

Klaus moaned and was certain he had just made things worse. “I shouldn’t’ve told you. I should let you remember on your own.” He kissed the top of Dorian’s head. “I’m an ass.”

Dorian could not help laughing at this. It was so odd hearing the Major talking this way. “When did you get to be so patient?”

“I’ve had to put up with you for decades. It was either become patient, or kill you.”

Dorian closed his eyes and tightened his grip. He felt a small wave of panic rise up upon hearing this. Then Klaus was embracing him back and he relaxed. He’s just kidding, Dorian reminded himself. Then he realized, he’s sitting naked in bed with you and you’re not doing anything about it!

“I wish I could remember the good and keep the bad erased forever,” Dorian heard himself saying. “What if I never remember, Klaus?”

“I’ll remember for you.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

To Klaus’s surprise, Dorian suddenly pushed him down onto the bed, capturing his mouth in a passionate kiss. When he wrapped his arms around him and returned the kiss, Dorian practically started purring. Then the Earl’s hands were all over him, tangling in his hair, caressing his arms, rubbing his chest, moving down to his aching erection. Dorian sat back, his eyes gleaming, his lechery in high gear. “Oh, Klaus, how could I forget this magnificent…?” He gave a contented sigh. “Magnificent.”

A wry smile came to Klaus’s face. He had been embarrassed and self-conscious about how well-endowed he was all his life, only to have Dorian come along and practically worship him as a god. When they first became lovers, they had taken things slowly because of it. Now it seemed they would have to do so again, once Dorian was healed physically and mentally.

Klaus closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath when the Earl took his cock into his hands, going on to tease him with gentle caresses before flicking his tongue over its length. Then a low moan escaped him when Dorian took his cock into his mouth and started sliding up and down its length. Klaus reached up above his head, grabbing onto the bed and holding on tightly. He knew if he didn’t do this, he would be grabbing onto Dorian and probably sending him into another panic.

Dorian was sure he must be dreaming when the man he loved more than life itself willingly gave himself to him without protest. When Klaus gave a moan of pleasure, Dorian prayed that he would never wake up. You are just so perfect. What did I do right to make you want me like this?

Dorian pulled the ribbon from his hair and wrapped it tightly around the base of his lover’s cock to hold back his orgasm. Then he went on to tease him further, driving him mad with pleasure as he licked and sucked its length for all he was worth.

Klaus responded with glorious moans of pleasure and then frustration as the Earl brought him to the brink of orgasm only to pull him back and begin the maddening process again. Klaus squirmed and writhed against the onslaught, arching his back and hanging onto the bed with an iron grip. After half an hour, he wondered if his eyes would have to be surgically removed from the back of his head. After another quarter of an hour, he could stand it no longer. “Dorian, please! I’m going mad!”

“I thought you were patient?”

“You promised…not to…piss me off,” Klaus gasped out in reply.

Dorian laughed, flicking his tongue playfully across the head of Klaus’s gloriously straining erection, pulling another whine of frustration from him. This was followed by a laugh when he said, “Major, I think you’re having trouble with your English. I’m not pissing you off. I’m sucking you off.”  

“Whatever! Just do it!”

Dorian could not help but smile. He may have lost his memory, but he certainly hadn’t lost his touch. After removing the ribbon from base of Klaus’s magnificent cock, he started sucking him hard, finally pulling him over the brink with a loud groan.

Klaus shuddered as a loud moan of pleasure escaped him, his orgasm exploding through him. He had to fight not to thrust up as he ejaculated into the Earl’s mouth. Dorian milked every last drop from him, leaving him gasping for breath and completely spent.

When Dorian finally flopped down beside his lover, his face was aglow with pride. “I’ve still got it,” he said proudly.

“I never doubted it for a second.” Klaus rolled onto his side, giving him a kiss that was returned with a fire he had first experienced ten years earlier.

“I love you, my beautiful Major,” Dorian sighed contentedly.

“I know.” Klaus grinned. Then he slid a hand down the Earl’s body, moving slowly toward his genitals. Dorian gasped when fingers slid into his pubic hair and then up his erect cock. Then he moaned, closing his eyes and rolling onto his back.

Klaus basked in the afterglow as he continued to caress his partner. After a few minutes, Dorian was purring again. Klaus started kissing his lover’s stomach, slowly moving towards his groin one kiss a time. “Shall I return the favor?” he asked softly.

It was all Dorian could do to not to ejaculate when he heard this. Dear God, yes! I want you to do everything to me. I’ve always wanted you to do everything to me.

“Yes! Oh, Klaus, I would love you to do…whatever you want to me.”

Klaus could not prevent the smile from coming to his face when the Earl started to beg. Even with ten years gone, he was the same Dorian. Klaus continued his slow progress of kisses until he was almost at Dorian’s genitals. Then he changed positions. Dorian opened his legs when Klaus moved between them, moaning loudly as the man gently caressed his thighs, moving upward to his straining cock. Instead of taking hold of it, he slid his fingers through his pubic hair again, causing him to give a startled gasp followed by a delighted giggle, his back arching at the same time. Klaus slowly moved his hands downward, gently massaging his lover’s testicles, causing him to moan loudly. Finally he took the Earl’s cock into his mouth.

Dorian arched his back again, drawing a deep shuddering breath, his trembling hands tangling in Klaus’s hair. Within a minute, he was lost in the sensations and gasping for breath. He wrapped his legs around the other man as he teased him in the same maddening way that he had done himself. Because Klaus was uncertain of the Earl’s stamina, he did not use the ribbon to hold back his orgasm, choosing to tease him with his tongue. After several minutes, he had Dorian gasping and squirming beneath him.

“Major, I’m…I’m…” Dorian threw his head back and gave a delighted cry as he came with an intensity he was sure he had never experienced. Then he wondered abstractly if it were one of the many things he had forgotten. What a marvelous thing to have to relearn, he thought as waves of pleasure washed over him.

Klaus watched as his lover got lost in the sensations. When he was finally released from his legs, he stretched out next to him, a satisfied smile on his face.

“God, Major, I love you so much,” Dorian sighed, kissing him on the mouth again.

Klaus could not help but laugh. “And you didn’t want to come back here with me.”

“Oh! I am so glad I did.” Dorian laid his head on Klaus’s chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. “I don’t deserve you,” he sighed.

“No, you have it backwards. I don’t deserve you.”

Dorian responded by kissing the man with all the passion he had for him. At that moment, it didn’t seem that important that he didn’t remember the past. He may have lost ten years, but he had gained an experienced, magnificent lover who also happened to be the man he adored. So long as he had the future with Klaus all to himself, perhaps he could be content.

* * *

Chapter Eleven
Bad Dreams

Klaus had taken Doctor Westphal’s advice and gotten in touch with a few support groups. Some were more helpful than others. The key piece of advice he received was to not blame the victim. He already knew this, but still kept in mind. There had already been times when Dorian had stated that the attack was his fault. That if he hadn’t been at the cabin, it wouldn’t’ve happened, and so on. Klaus had made certain to correct him each time, laying the blame squarely on the shoulders of the two animals he discovered raping the bound and helpless Earl when he arrived.

Dorian had experienced nightmares since the attack, but never seemed able to remember them. He would just wake up soaked in sweat and terrified. The hospital staff had done what they could without much success, and medications did not seem to help either. Doctor Westphal speculated that the memories were trying to break through, but the Earl was obviously not able, or not willing, to face them.

Dorian had lain awake a long time after Klaus drifted off to sleep. He just watched the beautiful man sleeping beside him, unable to believe the incredible story he’d been told. Unable to believe that they had been lovers for ten years and he had blocked it out. Unable to believe they were lovers now!

When Dorian finally snuggled up against Klaus, he felt like crying again when the man smiled in his sleep and wrapped an arm around him automatically.

“I love you, Klaus,” he whispered, kissing him on the mouth.

Klaus gave a contented sigh, returning the kiss. “I love you, too,” he said softly before settling into sleep again.

Dorian froze, his eyes wide. I did not hear that. I did not just hear that. He could not prevent the tears that finally made their way from his eyes. Nor did he remember dropping off to sleep.

* * *

“Dorian! Dorian, wake up!”

Dorian’s eyes snapped open, but he did not really see Klaus as he tried to shake him awake. He started to fight and then screamed in terror when Klaus took hold of his wrists.

“Dorian! For God’s sake, wake up!”

It was the stinging pain on his cheek that finally brought the Earl back to reality. He stared up at Klaus a full second before he was sitting up and clinging to him, breathing heavily. “Oh, God, Major, make it stop.”

Klaus closed his eyes and held the trembling man tightly. “I wish I could,” he said quietly. “Do you remember what you were dreaming?”

Dorian shook his head. “Just…terror. It was like…” He sighed heavily. “I felt…trapped. That’s the only way to describe it.”

Klaus nodded but did not press further. Doctor Westphal had stressed that Dorian needed to take this at his own pace. The memories were definitely trying to break through. Klaus wondered if they were of his own attack on the Earl, or the recent, more violent one. The former would be considerably easier to deal with.

“What time is it?”

Klaus glanced at the clock and groaned inwardly. “It’s too bloody early,” he replied vaguely.

Dorian groaned. “I’m sorry I woke you. Now you’ll never get back to sleep again.”

Klaus blinked and looked into the Earl’s face. “How do you know that?”

“What?”

“That I won’t go back to sleep now?”

“Well, you never…” Dorian’s voice trailed off and he gave the officer a startled look. “I don’t know. I just…” His eyes grew wide. “Klaus, does that mean I’m remembering?”

Klaus shook his head. “I don’t know.” He laid down again, pulling Dorian down beside him. “It’s too bloody cold to be sitting up like that,” he grumbled, yanking the blankets up. He threw a glance over to the wall. “I should’ve turned that heater on last night.”

Dorian giggled in spite of himself. “I thought heat and cold were a matter of discipline, Major,” he said playfully.

“I’m not freezing my ass off if I don’t have to,” Klaus replied with an indignant snort.

Dorian could not help but laugh at the other man’s expression. “You’ll never get used to sleeping nude, will you?” The words were scarcely out of his mouth when he realized what he had said. Then he laughed again. “Oh, Klaus, I think I am remembering.” He gave his lover a quick kiss and then he grinned devilishly. “Perhaps it was worth a nightmare.”

Klaus’s eyes flickered. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you remembered at a decent hour.”

“Oh!” Dorian flopped down, turned his back on him, and snuggled down into the blankets, stealing most of them in the process. “Fine. I’ll go back to sleep then,” he said in mock indignation. The smile on his face widened as Klaus snuggled up against him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He felt the unmistakable hardness of a morning erection and wiggled his bare ass against it.

“Dorian…”

“Well, if you’re not gonna go back to sleep…” the Earl said playfully.

Klaus started to nuzzle at Dorian’s neck. “Okay, I guess since I’m already up…”

Dorian burst out laughing when this remark was punctuated by the sizeable erection nudging against his wiggling ass. “When did you get a sense of humor?”

“Ten years ago.”

Dorian rolled over to look at him, his eyes misting over.

Klaus sighed heavily. “How am I supposed to fuck you like a man when you keep crying like a woman?”

“Oh, you beast!” Dorian hit Klaus’s chest with his fist, which only caused him to laugh. “I’ll show you! I’m gonna ride you like a Derby champion.” He tried to climb onto Klaus only to be stopped by a firm hand.

“No,” Klaus said firmly. “It’s too soon.”

“Klaus…”

“Nein. You’re still healing. And I’m…” Klaus sighed, and wondered if his face was flushing. “I was difficult for you to handle the first few times.”

Dorian’s eyes flickered. “Oh, I can’t wait to get better now.”

Klaus grinned and lay back again, pulling the Earl on top of him and spreading his legs at the same time. “You do me,” he said, giving the stunned Dorian a quick kiss.

“You mean it?”

“Yes.”

While Dorian retrieved the lubricant and a towel, Klaus turned on the heater, much to his lover’s amusement. Then they returned to their previous positions and Dorian pulled the blankets up over his shoulders, tenting the pair in bed. He moved down, kissing Klaus’s chest, then his stomach. Then he had a slick finger inside him and watched as the man arched his back and drew a deep breath. After a few minutes of preparation, Dorian moved forward again, applying lubricant to his erection and giving a gentle thrust. Klaus gave a low moan of pleasure, and wrapped his legs around his lover.

Dorian closed his eyes as the heat of the other man surrounded him. He still could not believe he was doing this with Klaus. That the man wanted him to do it, had asked him to do it. He started to slowly glide in and out, his mind still unable to get past the concept that he was not with a virgin lover. Then Klaus was seamlessly matching his movements, and it became clear that they had done this numerous times before.

Dorian leaned on his hands, feeling Klaus’s magnificent erection brushing against his skin. He thought he should take it in his hands, but selfishly wanted to concentrate on what his was doing. The feel of being inside the man he adored. Klaus did not seem to mind. In fact, he seemed just as lost in the moment, his head back, his eyes closed. My beautiful, darling Major, how could I have forgotten all this? You’re so perfect.

As Klaus matched his movements, Dorian found himself increasing the speed of his thrusts, driving Klaus mad with pleasure at the same time. He was moaning loudly, bucking up under him, his hands at the Earl’s hips.

“Gott, Dorian,” Klaus gasped out, “das ist so gut.”

This only served to spur Dorian on until they were both gasping for breath. Suddenly Klaus was writhing beneath the onslaught, his grip on the Earl tightening further. It’s only a matter of time, Dorian thought, a smile coming to his face when his lover climaxed with a loud groan. This was enough to send Dorian over the edge and he drew a sharp breath, giving a final thrust into Klaus as he came himself, empty himself deep inside his body. “Oh, Klaus, you’re fantastic!” he cried as Klaus wrapped his legs around him, locking him against his body.

Klaus pulled the Earl down, kissing him passionately, his hands tangling in his soft curls. He practically overwhelmed Dorian as he became completely lost in their joint orgasm. It had been a long time for both of them. Then Dorian collapsed on top of him, and he took him in his arms, wishing the moment would not end.

For it to end would mean they would have to go back to reality. And reality had proven to be very ugly of late.

* * *

“Now, why can’t I dream about this?” Dorian asked as he looked down at the lake. “This is just so…beautiful.” The day was clear and bright, the sun sparkling off of the water.

Klaus gave him a knowing smile. It was like going back in time watching the Earl taking everything in again. It seemed as though Dorian was reliving their first visit all over again, unlocking little memories as he did so. Unlike their first time at the cabin, however, the leaves were no longer green but were now ablaze with autumn colors. Dorian had often remarked on how exquisitely beautiful the area was in the fall. He had even considered hiring someone to paint it for him, but had always reconsidered because it would mean sharing this sanctuary with someone else.

Dorian turned back to Klaus, his eyes sparkling. “I’m so glad you decided to become patient instead of killing me,” he said happily, planting a kiss on the officer’s cheek. Then he froze, his eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?”

“I…um, oh, God…” Dorian said in a small voice, a hand going to his mouth.

Klaus’s eyes narrowed. “What have you remembered?”

“I…” Dorian shook his head. “It’s more feelings than memories. For a second, I thought you’d be angry with me for kissing you.”

Klaus nodded. “That first time… You were afraid I’d be angry then, too.”

“And were you?”

“No.” Klaus met the Earl’s inquiring gaze, reached a hand behind his neck, and pulled him close. “I’m not angry now, either,” he said before gently kissing him.

* * *

Chapter Twelve
Be Patient With Me

“Snow. This early in the year.” Dorian shook his head, turning his gaze away from the window where large, picturesque snowflakes were falling. He sank further into the leather chair before the fire.

Klaus came over, handing him a mug of tea before taking a seat in the other chair. “No walk to the lake today.”

“This is nicer.” Dorian studied the officer for several minutes as he silently sipped his coffee and stared into the fire. How many times have we sat in this companionable silence, Klaus? You’re so at ease around me here. You don’t even swear at me. Iron Klaus has definitely been left at the door.

“Klaus, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he asked suddenly.

“Was?” Having been lost in thought himself, Klaus was thrown by the unexpected question. “Tell you what sooner?”

“About this. About us.”

“I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“Oh, Klaus…”

“You’ve been bitter ever since you woke up in the hospital. I was afraid you’d think I was being malicious. Taunting you because you couldn’t remember.” Klaus paused a beat before adding, “Doctor Westphal agreed.”

Dorian’s eyes widened. “You talked to him a lot, didn’t you?”

Klaus nodded. “I wanted you back,” he said quietly. “I…missed my Dorian.”

A hand went to the Earl’s mouth, a small gasp escaping him. When his eyes started to mist up, Klaus sighed heavily. “You’re not gonna cry again, are you?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” Dorian replied, wiping a stray tear from his face. “Must be all the bloody medications I’m still on.”

“Must be.”

Dorian gave the officer a watery smile. “You’re just going to have to be patient with me, Klaus.” He watched the other man’s eyes flicker and added playfully, “You only have to put up with me for a week, Major. We’ll just have to make the best of it.”

Klaus met his gaze, seeing a familiar amorous look come to his face. He got to his feet, crossing to him. “Then why are we wasting time talking?”

* * *

“Now, I never would’ve imagined you liking bubble baths,” Dorian remarked as he stepped into the tub. Klaus was already in the water and leaned back to watch as his lover got in. “You give a very nice sponge bath,” he replied as the Earl’s legs slid over his beneath the water.

“Oh, now that I do remember,” Dorian replied happily.

Klaus’s eyebrows went up. “Do you?”

“Mmmm,” the Earl sighed as he leaned back, his eyes closed. Then he opened his eyes, adding, “Not with you, of course.”

“Fucking pervert,” Klaus replied in mock anger, splashing water at him.

“Now, Major, you promised not to hit me while I’m here.”

“I didn’t promise not to drown you,” Klaus replied. He took hold of the Earl’s legs, causing him to squeal as he was pulled underwater.

Dorian popped up with a splash, an enormous grin on his face. “You realize this means war?” So saying, he pulled the German underwater and then leaned forward in order to capture his mouth in a kiss when he resurfaced.

Klaus responded by wrapping his arms around him and pulling him down across his chest so he was lying on top on him. “Did you also forget I’m a soldier?”

Dorian squealed again. Then he started to laugh when he felt an unmistakable hardness pressing against him. He moved up slightly, clasping Klaus’s erection between his thighs.

“Dorian…” Klaus said warningly.

“Shhh.” Dorian put his fingers to the man’s lips. “I want to try something.” Then he moved his hands to position himself, and pushed back, allowing the water to keep him buoyant while also allowing Klaus’s cock to slide between his legs. Then he moved forward, and it slid back in again.

“Gott!” Klaus gasped. “That feels fantastic!” He raised his knees on either side of Dorian’s hips to center him, putting his hands on the tub to keep from going under.

“And no one gets hurt,” Dorian grinned as he slid his body back again, feeling the knees pressing against his hips.

Klaus’s breathing grew faster as the Earl’s slick body continued to glide back and forth over his straining erection. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in the feel of the warm water around him, the Earl’s hot body pressing on top of him, the man’s erection gliding over his stomach.

Klaus let go of one side of the tub, taking hold of Dorian’s cock and causing him to gasp. Within seconds, they were moving in unison, Dorian sliding backward over Klaus’s cock and then forward into his hand while Klaus moved his hips up at the same time.

When Dorian started to breathe in short gasps, Klaus shifted position and started thrusting faster into the Earl’s legs, increasing the motion of his hand. The water started to slosh around them as they fell into a sudden frenzy that ended with them attaining an orgasm practically simultaneously.

Dorian gave a sharp cry, his back arching at the same time. Klaus gave a final upward thrust, followed by a groan of pleasure. Then he wrapped one leg over Dorian’s body as he leaned down and started kissing him on the mouth.

“That was…wonderful,” Dorian breathed happily.

Klaus nodded, reaching up to touch his dripping curls. “We’ve never done that before,” he informed softly.

Dorian sat up, a startled expression on his face. “Never?”

Klaus shook his head.

Several things flashed across the Earl’s face before he looked his lover in the eye. “Thank you for the new memories.”

Klaus smiled, putting a hand behind his neck. “We still have the rest of the week to create more.”

* * *

Chapter Thirteen
Tell Me You Love Me

Just as on every other occasion, the time at the cabin was too short. Dorian had made considerable progress as far as Klaus was concerned, but not nearly as much as he would have liked himself. He felt heartsick when the Major dropped him off at his hotel. In a few weeks, he would be going back to England to finish his convalescence at Castle Gloria.

He would not be able to appear during the Major’s missions while he was still recovering. Nor did he think he could go back to thieving until he had at least part of his memories back. To his delight, Klaus continued to meet him at the cabin every few months. With each visit, more and more memories broke through, sometimes whole blocks at a time. Hopefully, they would all return eventually. Although, the memory of the rape could remain buried for all eternity as far as Dorian was concerned.

* * *

Before Dorian knew it, it was summer and he found himself sitting in the grass, looking down at the lake again. The day was warm, with a gentle breeze blowing a few stray clouds in the sky. Klaus was a short distance away, silently smoking a cigarette. After a few minutes, the Earl looked over at him. Klaus was leaning back against a tree, his eyes closed, the hand with his cigarette in it perched atop an upraised knee. He was sure this was the most relaxed he had ever seen Iron Klaus.

“I love you, Klaus,” Dorian said suddenly.

Klaus opened his eyes and looked over at him, a small smile coming to his face. The phrase that had once caused him to knock the man across a room was now one he could not hear enough. “Show me,” he said mildly. To his surprise, Dorian turned away. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything.”

“Well, that narrows it down.”

Dorian sighed heavily, getting to his feet. With the exception of the one instance while Klaus was half-asleep, he had never heard the man tell him that he loved him. Should he ask him to say it? He had proven it in so many ways over the past year. But the strain of keeping their relationship a secret during his recovery was difficult. A voice in the back of his head told him that it had been a problem long before he lost ten years of his life.

“I think we should get back, now.” Dorian said at last

“Dorian, what’s wrong? What have you remembered?”

“Nothing…” He sighed. “Nothing I can put my finger on,” came the vague reply. “I’m sorry I’m such a burden to you.”

“God dammit, Dorian, don’t start that again,” Klaus moaned as he got to his feet, flicking his cigarette butt away. “If I thought you were a burden, I’d’ve left you in the hospital with hysterical amnesia.” The reply to this was a tight hug from the Earl.

“Thank you for being so patient with me,” Dorian sighed. “I love you.”

“I know. You tell me all the time.”

Finally, Dorian could stand it no longer. “Then why don’t you tell me?”

“What?”

“I’m sure you think it’s ridiculous, and foppish, and sappy. And I know you’ve proved it in a hundred different ways that I may never remember.” Once he started, Dorian could not stop the words tumbling out of him. “But just once I’d like to hear you say it. That…if you could, you’d tell the world.”

Klaus stood silently looking at him. Now it was his turn to experience déjà vu. They had had this conversation numerous times before. While treasuring their time together, Dorian was tiring of the pretense. The military had finally set an official policy. Klaus’s career was no longer in danger, even if he only let his own men know the truth. It was an issue Dorian had brought up for more than a year. An issue that Klaus had planned on resolving the day Dorian was attacked.

“Let’s go back,” Klaus said finally, holding out a hand. “There’s something… Let’s go back.”

Dorian’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. He took the outstretched hand and followed. They walked the distance back to the cabin in silence.

* * *

Dorian frowned when Klaus went to the back of his Mercedes rather than inside. “Klaus, what on earth…?”

“I’ve had this for more than a year now,” Klaus said as he popped the trunk. “I was gonna give it to you that night…” He closed his eyes and left the sentence unfinished. He reached into the trunk, pulling out a small cardboard box that definitely had the look of something that had been left to bounce around in the back of a car for more than a year.

“What is that?” Dorian asked suspiciously.

Klaus gave a small smile and nodded towards the cabin. “Inside,” he said cryptically.

“You just love being mysterious, don’t you?”

“I’ve been waiting more than a year. I want to do this right,” Klaus replied as he led the way inside. Because you’re the romantic and I don’t want to fuck it up. He held out a hand. “Sit, please.”

Dorian sat down on the leather couch and waited, his eyes bright with anticipation.

Klaus put the box on a table and opened it, drawing a deep breath. “There were roses in here before,” he said mildly. “And I even had a speech all memorized. I’ll be damned if I can remember it now.” He pulled out a small box and sat down beside Dorian. He opened what turned out to be a ring box, and held it out. Inside was a thick gold band. “The part I remember is this. You wear a ring on your finger all the time. I would be honored if you’d replaced it with this one.”

Dorian’s enormous blue eyes grew even wider, a small gasp escaping him. He took the ring from the box and looked at it. Etched into it, wrapping around a rope, were small roses each with a tiny ruby in its center. A rope of wire, no doubt. Dorian smiled as he realized the significance and looked up. “Oh, Klaus, it’s beautiful,” he breathed. “Where did you get the design?”

“It’s from a drawing you did of me.”

Dorian gave a small gasp. “I remember that!” He gave a delighted laugh at the clarity of the memory. This was happening more and more often. “I drew you all tangled up in rose vines. My German wire rope entwined in English roses.”

I am so glad you remember that. Klaus drew a deep breath. “There’s…an inscription.”

Dorian looked down, holding up the ring. Inside was written, “I am forever entwined. All my love. Klaus.” A hand went to the Earl’s mouth and he had to fight to hold back the tears. “You’ve had this a year?” he said in a small voice.

“Yes. There are ten roses. One for each year.”

Dorian was suddenly kissing Klaus for all he was worth. When he finally came up for air, he smiled brightly and then pulled the ring off his right hand, replacing it with the new one. It was a perfect fit. “I’m not even going to ask how you sized it.” He kissed Klaus on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You really do love me, don’t you?”

It was a rhetorical question, but Klaus answered it anyway. “Yes. I want to tell the world.”

Dorian gave him a sideways glance. “Sure you do.”

“They finally set down policy pertaining to sexual orientation some time ago. You’ve been telling me for a very long time that it won’t affect my career if the whole world knows.” Klaus looked the Earl in the eye. “I planned on giving you that and then…” He paused, drawing a deep breath. “I was gonna suggest that we tell our respective teams about us.”

Dorian gave him a dubious look. “You were?”

Klaus nodded. “I already told Bonham and my butler what I planned to do so they would know who was privy to the information. Then it all got fucked up.”

Dorian thought this over a moment. “Are you still willing to do that?”

“Yes. With one stipulation. No sex during a mission.”

“Oh, Major, that isn’t fair!” Dorian moaned playfully.

“You’re distracting enough as it is, Eroica.”

A brilliant smile lit up the Earl’s face. “That will just make the sex afterward that much better!”

Klaus sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. “You’re impossible, bloody pervert.”

This just made Dorian laugh. “How do you think your men will take it?”

“Z already knows,” Klaus informed. “He walked into your hospital room that night and caught me—” He broke off and closed his eyes at the memory. Thank God you don’t remember what happened.

“Caught you what?”

“He caught me crying.”

“What? You?” Considering all the unexpected things Dorian had heard coming from Iron Klaus over the last year, this was one of the most unexpected. That, and his finally having said yes.

“I thought I was gonna lose you.” Klaus met he gaze steadily. “And then…I almost did.”

Dorian sat staring into his face for several seconds. When Klaus softly said, “I love you,” the Earl practically pounced on him, pushing him down onto the couch. “I’m gonna ravage you right here in the middle of the living room.”

“You sure you’re up to it?”

“Oh! I’m all healed up, with a clean bill of health from my doctor, my darling Major!” Dorian captured his mouth in a passionate kiss. He reached up to unbutton his shirt only to have Klaus grab him by the wrists, stopping his progress.

“I almost forgot,” Klaus said suddenly.

“What’s that?”

“It’s your birthday tomorrow.”

Dorian blinked. Then he gave him a sideways glance that looked more like a leer. “Are you my present?” he asked with a purr.

Klaus gave the appearance of thinking this over. “Yes.”

“The gift that keeps on giving!” Dorian laughed as he started to nuzzle the man’s neck.

“So start unwrapping.”

Dorian giggled, his hands moving to unbutton his shirt. His eyes fell on the new ring on his finger and he stopped to look at it. “At the risk of sounding foppish,” he said, giving Klaus a quick kiss, “I love you, my beautiful German wire rope.”

Klaus smiled, putting a hand behind Dorian’s neck and pulling him back down again. “At the risk of sounding equally foppish, I love you, too, my entwining English rose.”

* * *