Chapter Six
Have We Met?

Klaus opened his eyes and then immediately wished he hadn’t, his head throbbing the instant the light registered in his brain. Just how much did I drink? He groaned, rolled over, saw the Earl beside him in bed, and let out a loud yelp, which he also regretted.

Dorian started awake, a hand going to his throbbing head. “Not so loud, James,” he muttered.

“You idiot, I’m not James,” Klaus snapped and he sat up. He was relieved to find he still had the robe and pajama pants on. He pulled the robe around himself as he got out of bed.

Dorian was staring up at the other man, being just as surprised as he was. “Major?” he said as he sat up, a hand going to his aching head. “Oh, God, my head…” he moaned. “What the hell was in that cognac?”

“You bloody pervert,” Klaus snarled. “You get me drunk—”

“I did not!” Dorian protested in as loud a voice as his hangover would permit. “It was your idea to get drunk!”

Klaus’s eyes narrowed. “How did we end up in bed together?”

Dorian looked down as if he suddenly realized he was in bed. “I have no idea. I vaguely remember something about not being fit to drive.” He looked up at the all too familiar panicked expression on the other man’s face. “Major, don’t you think we’re a long way past your usual panic attacks? We tried to rape each other yesterday, incase you’d forgotten.”

Klaus closed his eyes, a hand going to his pounding head. “Gott, I need another drink.”

Dorian gave him a sympathetic look and climbed out of bed, finding himself fully dressed. Obviously, nothing had happened. “Do you have anything in the kitchen to make a decent breakfast?”

“How can you think about food?” Klaus groaned.

I didn’t drink a whole bottle of whisky. Dorian kept this thought to himself as he made his way to the kitchen, stopping in the downstairs toilet on the way. A few minutes later, Klaus joined him, having changed into normal clothes. Dorian checked himself before remarking on this. Things were already bad enough.

“I’m a wiz at eggs, bacon and sausage,” he said as he looked in the refrigerator. “Check that, no bacon.”

Klaus nodded absently as he sat down at the table while the Earl fussed with the breakfast preparations.

“How about some coffee, Major?”

“I would murder for a cup of coffee,” the officer replied.

“That is a very ominous statement coming from you.”

Before Klaus could think of a suitable reply, the teakettle was whistling for attention, causing his head to throb again.

Dorian set a jar of Nescafé on the table, placing a mug beside it. He then set down some aspirin next to a glass of water. He grabbed the kettle, turning back to see Klaus mechanically measuring out the coffee into the mug. As soon as he finished, the water was poured into the cup.

“Thank you,” Klaus said dully as he stirred the coffee.

Dorian blinked. “You’re welcome.”

“Your sausages are burning.”

“Oh, Lord!” Dorian spun around, turning down the heat under the pan. Then he expertly flipped the eggs in the other pan. “I was once courted by one of the best chefs in Paris,” he said conversationally. “He thought if he taught me how to cook properly, I would go to bed with him.”

Klaus’s eyebrows went up. “If?”

Dorian flipped the eggs onto a plate, quickly adding several sausages before going on to add a few slices of toast. “The man was a pig,” he snorted.

Klaus sat back, looking at the Earl as if seeing him for the first time.

When Dorian turned back, he did a double taken when he saw the amazed look on the officer’s face. “What?”

“I’ve never seen you like this before,” Klaus said finally.

“Like what? Cooking?” Dorian finished preparing his own breakfast and took a seat opposite the man who was still staring at him. “I seem to remember making something to eat last night.”

“No. I don’t mean cooking. I mean…normal.”

Dorian grinned and pushed his hair out of his face. “My darling Major, we both know I’m anything but normal.”

“Don’t do that, Dorian,” Klaus said sharply, regretting having raised his voice. He put a hand to his head and closed his eyes a moment. “Don’t hide behind that…pervert.”

The Earl’s mouth dropped open and he found it was now his turn to stare at the other man. “You called me Dorian,” he said in a small voice.

“I know.”

“After all this time, why now?”

Klaus gave him a steady look. “Because this is the first time I’ve ever seen him.”

Dorian sat back and studied the Major’s face. Then he held out a hand. “How do you do. I’m Dorian.”

Klaus looked at the outstretched hand and sighed. Oh, what the hell? “How do you do. I’m Klaus.”

Dorian gave him a dazzling smile that seemed to light up the whole room. “Klaus, I’d like to thank you for inviting me to your cabin for the weekend,” he said as he started to tuck into his breakfast.

“Weekend?”

Dorian looked up. “I think you need to start this experiment again.”

Klaus thought a moment. He hadn’t really intended on starting the experiment at all, but suddenly found himself intrigued by the apparent stranger sitting across from him. “Yes,” he said at last. He gave his own breakfast a dubious look and reached for the aspirin. “And I think I should do it sober.”

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