Pestilence (20 page)

“What happened?” He went to stand next to his lover.

Pest grinned. “I woke up and went to the bathroom. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, this is what greeted me. This is what I looked like before I became a Horseman.”

Bart glanced at Death. “What does this mean?”

“It means Aldo is no longer the White Horseman. Love and forgiveness have freed him of his burden.” Death’s smile held a touch of wistfulness. “You can live a normal life now without worrying about accidentally touching anyone and giving them the plague.”

“Really?” Pest stared down at his glove-covered hands. “How do I test it out? It’s not like I’d risk Bart’s health to see if you’re telling me the truth.”

Death frowned before snapping his fingers. “I know who you would trust, not that I have ever lied to you.”

A blinding gold light filled the room, and when Bart’s vision cleared, Lam stood there, arms crossed and an irritated expression on his face.

“What is it now, Death? I told you I’m not at your beck and call.”

“I need you to tell Pestilence it’s okay for him to touch Bart without gloves. He’s no longer a Horseman. He’s human again.”

Lam turned to study Pestilence, or maybe Bart should start calling him Aldo. Surprise sparkled in the blond’s eyes before he nodded.

“The Pale Rider is right. You are human once more, Aldo Bianchi, and can touch anyone you want skin-to-skin, though something tells me there’s only one man you’ll be touching a lot.” Lam winked before disappearing.

Bart watched as Aldo removed the gloves, one finger at a time. He stepped closer to his lover, reaching out to place his hands on Aldo’s hips. They held their breath as Aldo cupped his face with soft, elegant fingers. He nuzzled into Aldo’s palms and exhaled softly.

The one thing he thought he would never get. It was perfect and thrilling to know Aldo would be able to touch him like a normal person, and his lover would never have to worry about brushing against people in crowds. Maybe with this development, they would be able to live in the city, or at least in the civilized world.

Tears filled Aldo’s eyes and Bart kissed him, pouring all his love and happiness into the kiss. Aldo embraced him, crushing him against his chest.

“Enjoy your new life, Aldo. Maybe I’ll see you around some time.”

A soft touch to Aldo’s shoulders and Death disappeared. Bart barely acknowledged his leaving. He continued to kiss Aldo, slowly easing him back toward the bedroom. It was time to make love with nothing between them.

Aldo’s pale hands stroked over his skin, savoring every dip and curve. Bart gripped Aldo’s shoulders as they fell to the bed. Spreading his legs, he moaned into Aldo’s mouth as their bodies pressed together. His lover slipped a hand down over his chest below his waist. Aldo tugged on the curls at Bart’s groin before fisting his cock and pumping.

“Please, Aldo. Please let me make love to you without a rubber,” he begged.

“Of course, love. Anything you want.”

Aldo flipped onto his back and hooked his hands behind his knees to bring them up to his chest. Bart swallowed hard as Aldo exposed his hole for Bart.

Scrambling to find the tube of slick, he muttered, “I can’t believe this is happening. I guess once you admitted you weren’t guilty for your family’s death, the spell holding you as Pestilence broke and you could go back to your life.”

“Not completely back,” Aldo pointed out before grunting as Bart breached his ass with two fingers.

“True. You can’t go back to your original life, but you can live a normal mortal life now. You’re getting a second chance, and with your knowledge, you can save people who wouldn’t normally be saved.”

Aldo nodded, but didn’t answer him. His lover seemed more intent on getting his opening stretched as quickly as possible, so Bart could fuck him. After getting four fingers in and Aldo pleading with him to make love to him, Bart squirted some more lube into the palm of his hand and coated his cock with it.

He settled between Aldo’s thighs and positioned his cock at Aldo’s hole. They both breathed out as Bart pressed in, sinking balls deep without hesitation. Only when his balls hit Aldo’s ass did he freeze. They stared at each other and he saw love shining in Aldo’s eyes.

Then they began to move, falling into the perfect rhythm of give and take. The added feeling of Aldo’s soft, scarred hands exploring his body drove his desire even higher, dragging groans of pleasure from him. His climax built until he couldn’t think straight. His balls drew tight and his cock throbbed as he pounded into Aldo.

“I’m going to come,” he warned.

Aldo reached out and grabbed Bart’s ass, gripping it tight and helping him slam harder into him. “Do it. I want to feel your hot cum fill my ass. I want you to claim me in the most intimate way possible.”

At those words, Bart’s climax broke over him and he flooded Aldo’s passage with his cum. As he rocked them together, Aldo came as well, covering their stomachs. They shuddered and trembled until their pleasure ran its course and Bart collapsed on top of him.

When he caught his breath, Bart flopped to the side, keeping his hand on Aldo’s chest because he didn’t want to lose contact with Aldo. A few minutes later, Aldo climbed out of bed and wandered to the bathroom, where he washed up before coming back to take care of Bart.

Once clean, they snuggled together. Bart played with the ends of Aldo’s hair. The color might have changed, but the length stayed the same, making Bart happy.

“Do you have a grave for your wife and son?”

Aldo stiffened for a second before nodding. “Yes, in a small cemetery just outside of Rome. I didn’t bury their bodies, but I bought two headstones for them.”

“I’d like to see them. Maybe lay some flowers on the stones.”

Pushing up on his elbow, Aldo looked down at him. “Why?”

Shrugging, Bart reached up and brushed some of Aldo’s hair over the man’s shoulder. “I think it’s the right thing to do. Kind of letting Antoinette know I love you and will take care of you for as long as we’re alive. I don’t want her to hate me when we meet up in Heaven for stealing her husband away.”

Aldo chuckled softly. “Antoinette wasn’t like that. She might be shocked I fell in love with a man, but she wouldn’t hate you because you made me happy. She wouldn’t have wanted me to live my life alone, even if it was centuries of isolation.”

“I thought so, because any woman you loved would be a kind and gentle soul. I just want to pay tribute to the years you had with her.”

“All right. I’ll make arrangements for us to fly over there. It’s time for me to make a visit.” Aldo paused for a second while he thought. “Maybe we could get a house over there, in Tuscany or some place. I miss my country.”

“I’m more than willing to do that. I might take a sabbatical from the university and write some papers on my discovery. Maybe I’ll even let you take me back to the Amazon and we’ll discover some more plants to help with medicines.”

Aldo appeared to think about it. A bright smile broke over the man’s face and Bart wrapped his arms around Aldo’s waist, bringing him down to kiss him.

“I’m willing to do anything as long as you’re beside me,” he confessed.

“And it’s the same with me, love.” Aldo brushed a kiss over his forehead. “Let’s get some sleep. We have to go back to the hospital tomorrow.”

Bart frowned. “I thought we were done there.”

“We were, but I have a few more notes to drop off for Darvi. I’d forgotten them here this morning.” Aldo yawned, dropping down to cuddle close.

“All right,” he agreed.

They drifted off to sleep, embracing each other tightly.

Chapter Eleven

“Bartholomew, you really are here. I thought I’d dreamt you.” Jasper’s smile was bright, but his expression was slightly dismayed.

“I bet you wished I was a dream,” Bart commented as he took the chair next to Jasper’s bed.

It had been several weeks since Bart and Aldo had brought the herbs to Dr. Darvi and his team. The doctors had been able to distil a working medicine from it and had started giving it to Jasper and the others. Within a day, they’d started to feel better and the fevers had gone down, along with the lesions disappearing. Today was the first day Jasper had felt good enough to talk to Bart. Bart and Aldo had returned to Washington to visit the patients.

“Why’d you leave me in the jungle? I thought we were lovers and, even if we were just fuck buddies, I thought you’d treat me better than that.” He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, glaring at Jasper.

Jasper dropped his gaze and plucked at the blanket covering him to his waist. “I’m sorry, Bart. I guess possible fame and prestige got the better of me and I wasn’t thinking. If I had known you were sick, I wouldn’t have left you at all. I swear.”

“So you thought you’d take the credit all for yourself. What were you going to do with the other three? Or had they agreed to give you the credit for some kind of monetary compensation?”

The red flush on Jasper’s cheeks weren’t from a fever. Bart had hit a nerve.

“You would have gotten posthumous credit.” Jasper shot Bart a quick glance before he looked away. “And just so you know, the others didn’t really want to leave you, but they figured it would work out. You’d come back after we’d revealed what we found.”

“You mean what I found. I can’t believe this. You fucked me to convince me to go on this stupid trip, but when it came down to it, you couldn’t even include me in any glory. I was just a dupe for you.”

“No. I planned on naming the flower after you to honor you.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have gotten the money and prestige you would have gotten if I wasn’t there.” Bart reached out and tapped Jasper’s knee. “It was all my work that found the plant for you. You were going to publish my notes and research and put your name on them.”

Jasper started to sputter, trying to come up with some excuse, but Bart wasn’t buying any of it.

“Thank God I had the good luck to stumble across Dr. Bianchi. He nursed me back to health. In addition to that, he managed to figure out what medicine would work to heal your sorry ass.” Bart grinned. “I also wanted to let you know I gave all my notes to Dr. Kakkar and he’s going over them now. I should have a paper to present to the scientific community within a month or so. I’ll be sure to mention your name when I do.”

His former lover heaved a heavy sigh. “I guess I shouldn’t pitch a fit, huh? At least I’m still alive.”

“That’s the spirit, Jasper. You can always go back to the jungle and see if you can find something else no one else has. Or maybe they’ll name this disease after you. At least you’ll be remembered forever for something.” He grinned. “Should I tell you I plan on returning to the Amazon to see if I can’t find more undiscovered plants that might have some kind of medicinal value?”

“Bart, are you ready to go?”

He turned to see Aldo standing a few feet away. Bart hid his smile with a cough. Aldo had made it very obvious he didn’t like Jasper and wanted nothing to do with Bart’s former lover. Aldo frowned at Jasper.

“Yes, I am. Just tying up a few loose ends.” Bart stood and started to turn toward Aldo. “Oh by the way, Jasper, I’d like you to meet Dr. Aldo Bianchi. You might recognize his name. He was the man who found me in the rainforest and the one you have to thank for getting better. He’s also the man who’s going to help me continue the research I started down in the jungle.”

Jasper held out his hand. “Dr. Bianchi, it’s an honor to meet you.”

Aldo tucked his hands in his pockets. “Sorry. Too many germs out there and working as an infectious disease doctor tends to make me even more paranoid.”

Bart shook his head, yet didn’t say anything. Aldo had been doing better about not freaking out without gloves on, but after centuries of worrying and watching, he couldn’t quite change the long ingrained habits. It was an excuse not to have to touch Jasper though. The only person he never hesitated to touch was Bart, and it warmed Bart inside to know Aldo loved him that much.

Jasper let his hand drop to the bed. “Of course, I understand.”

“We’re heading back to Harvard. Maybe we’ll see you around.” Bart inclined his head to Jasper and left, not looking back.

“Did you get some closure from talking to him?” Aldo placed his hand at the small of Bart’s back.

Bart nodded. “Yes, I did. I guess I just needed to confront him face-to-face about why he left me. I knew he did it for the recognition, but it still hurts slightly to hear him try to deny it.”

“It doesn’t matter now. You’ll get all the acclaim you deserve and you get me. What more could you ask for?” Aldo winked at him.

He chuckled. “How long do we have before we have to be at the airport?”

“Just enough time to drive there. Checking in should be quick since I chartered a private flight for us to Italy.”

“You did, huh? It’s nice being the boy toy for a rich man.” Bart winked at Aldo.

“It’s amazing how much money you can make when you’ve lived several hundred years. I also had a realtor line up several houses in Tuscany for us to look at while we’re over there.”

They climbed into the limo waiting outside the hospital and settled on the backseat. Aldo fell silent for a few minutes. His lover had something on his mind. He’d tell Bart when he was ready.

“You’re a resident of Massachusetts, right?”

The direction of the enquiry became clear to Bart when he glanced up to see Aldo holding a box in his hand.

“Yes,” he forced through a suddenly closed throat.

“Would you do me the honor of accepting my proposal of marriage?”

Aldo’s rather formal speech screamed at how nervous he was. If Bart wanted to make Aldo twist for a little bit, he’d hem and haw, but his excitement wouldn’t let him torture the poor man.

“Yes. God, yes!”

He threw his arms around Aldo, pitching them back against the door as they kissed. Aldo laughed against his lips, but didn’t break their embrace until Bart’s lungs begged for air.

Leaning back, he smiled up at Aldo. “I can’t say this was the most conventional courtship in the history of the world.”