The Mistletoe Experiment (3 page)

meant the judge was more lenient when Jakob came up. He

wouldn"t even let Mr. Leahy get up when it was his turn to

cross-examine Jakob. He had to keep his distance.”

“Good. I"m glad he didn"t let that awful man scare

Jakob.” Lance shuddered.

“I know that the final decision will take at least a few

more days, but I feel like we deserve a little mini-celebration

in honor of having done our part today.” Magnus tightened

his embrace.

“You do, huh?” Lance grinned. He knew exactly what

sort of a celebration
he
wanted. “Well, at the very least we

won"t have to testify anymore.”

“Exactly.” Magnus bent his head and nibbled on Lance"s

ear.

It made tingles of anticipation race straight from his

earlobe to his quickly hardening cock. He turned his head.

Magnus looked like a Norse God with his blond hair and

silver-blue eyes. He was beyond gorgeous. God, how he loved

that man. He couldn"t wait to have the ceremony. They"d

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17

decided to get married at the gazebo, exactly one year after

the proposal. It was going to be very romantic, but

sometimes he regretted having to wait for another, what, ten

months?

“Are you thinking about our wedding again?” Magnus

smiled.

“How did you know?” He slid his arms around Magnus

and moved up to straddle his fiancé"s well-muscled thighs.

“You get that „look" when you do.” Magnus grinned and

pulled him closer.

Feeling the other man"s equally hard cock, even through

several layers of fabric, made Lance even hotter than he

already was.

“What look?” Lance started opening Magnus"s pants.

They weren"t going to make it to their bedroom. Jakob

was a very deep sleeper, so there was no reason not to have

a first round on the sofa. God, but Magnus made him hot.

“That mixture between total panic and utter happiness.”

Magnus cooperated by opening Lance"s pants in turn,

pulling out his painfully hard cock and slowly stroking it.

“Yeah, well, we do still need to get a lot of things—”

Lance moaned, unable to finish his thought when Magnus

tightened his fist around his cock.

“But not now,
älskling
.” Magnus kissed him square on

the lips.

It was the most wonderful way to create silence. Magnus

slid his free hand inside Lance"s pants, cupping a buttock

before moving one of his long fingers between the cheeks to

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18

caress his way along the crease until he touched Lance"s

opening.

“Yes, please.” Lance loved the stimulation.

He didn"t know whether to move forward into Magnus"s

tight fist, or to move back into the finger that was almost,

but not quite, penetrating him. When Magnus lowered his

head to kiss him, Lance was lost. He closed his eyes and

gave in to the feelings coursing through his body.

Magnus thrust his tongue in and out of Lance"s mouth

in the same rhythm as he finger fucked him. Lance was in

heaven, speeding up his movements and holding on for dear

life. His orgasm was closing in on him with incredible speed.

The friction on his cock drove him higher and higher, while

the dry penetration of his hole provided just enough stretch

and burn to make him crazy with lust.

With one last thrust, he pushed forward and started

coming all over Magnus"s big hand, even messing up his

clothes a little. He pulled back from the kiss, afraid he"d bite

Magnus"s tongue off and leaned his forehead against his

fiancé"s broad chest. Aftershocks were still making him

twitch when he finally looked up.

“Fuck, that felt good.” Lance kissed Magnus on the chin,

then his lips. “But it"s your turn now.”

“Let"s take it to the bedroom.” Magnus grinned. “I have a

feeling that this next round might take a little longer.”

Lance moaned as he followed Magnus to their bedroom.

Yes, please!

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19

THE next morning came much too quickly as far as Lance

was concerned. A loud knock on the door was followed by a

sleepy “come in” from Magnus who was spooning him from

behind to provide the physical closeness that Lance loved.

They were decently covered by sheets and blankets, so he

really had no excuse for not wanting the much-too-awake

Jakob to come into the room.

“What are we doing today?” Jakob bounded onto their

bed within seconds of barreling into the room.

“I thought we"d go hunt for the tall boots today.”

Magnus yawned and rubbed his eyes. “We can see lots of the

city while we look for them, so that we"ll know what to get

back to over the next few days.”

“Hunt for tall boots?” Jakob looked puzzled.

“Yes, they"re eight foot tall replicas of cowboy boots,

painted by artists to show the history of Wyoming and

Cheyenne. We should go and get a map, then try to find

them all.” Magnus stroked Lance"s belly under the blankets,

trying to ease him awake.

It worked.

“Wow, that sounds like fun. I better get dressed.” Jakob

jumped off the bed and raced to the door, turning to look at

them just before he left. “Can we do a trail ride at some point

as well? I remember those from the leaflets on the table in

the living room. They looked really cool.”

“Sure, we"ll find out where to go, and we"ll do one of

those as well.” Magnus yawned again. “After I get some coffee

inside me, please.”

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20

“Sure.” Jakob was out the door, his little bare feet

carrying him back to his room with a speed indicative of his

impatience to get going.

“We better make sure we"re not left behind by the little

whirlwind.” Magnus chuckled as he pulled Lance closer to

give him a proper good morning kiss.

Lance opened up to Magnus on a sigh. Their tongues

reacquainted themselves with each other slowly and

tenderly. Magnus pulled back much too quickly for Lance"s

liking.

“Come on, let"s take a quick shower and get the day

started.” Magnus tightened his embrace briefly before sliding

out of bed and padding over to their bathroom.

His naked ass was a sight to behold. Lance lay there,

admiring the muscles playing under Magnus"s skin as the

man moved.

“I"ll be there in a minute.” Lance snuggled back under

the blankets, hoping for a few minutes more sleep.

“Don"t go back to sleep,
älskling
. We have a busy day

ahead of us.” Magnus laughed. “We just need to make sure

that Jakob is dead tired by the end of it, so that we have the

evening to ourselves.”

Now, that was the most promising thought yet. Lance

managed to get up and make it into the shower before

Magnus was done. All they did was wash each other under

the warm spray, but it was enough to give him a raging hard

on.

It would have to wait until later.

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21

ALMOST a week later, Magnus was happy about the amazing

time they"d had exploring Cheyenne and the surrounding

area. Jakob had loved all the cowboy references, the trail

rides they"d done, and the delving into the history of

Wyoming by visiting old railroad exhibits and even a few

museums. But they all felt it was time to go home now,

especially since they wanted to celebrate Jakob"s ninth

birthday on Wednesday at home, not in a strange city.

Apparently the jury had finally come to a decision this

morning. Magnus led his little family back into the

courtroom. Their assigned seats were right behind the

prosecutor, so they"d have a good view of the judge as well as

the members of the jury once they emerged from their

separate room.

The tension in the room as they walked toward the front

was palpable. The case had drawn quite some attention in

local and even some national media, so it wasn"t too much of

a surprise to see quite a few journalists seated at the back.

Cameras were forbidden during the trial, but were sure to

come out of the woodwork as soon as the official part was

over. Magnus hoped the reporters wouldn"t bother them too

much, but wasn"t holding his breath.

Jakob"s hand held in his, they sat down and waited for

everyone else to come in and find seats. The members of the

jury filed in last, and the judge asked them if they had

elected a foreperson.

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22

“We have, your honor.” A man in his thirties rose, his

eyes restless when he looked at the room full of expectant

people.

“And have you reached a verdict?” The judge stared at

the poor man, making him even more nervous.

“We have, your honor.” The man blushed as he handed

a bailiff the small sheet of paper that would determine Brian

and Nancy"s fate.

Magnus glanced over at them, sat on the other side of

the aisle. Brian was red in the face as he pushed his large

horn-rimmed glasses back up his nose. His balding head

was shiny with sweat. Nancy had shrunk in on herself even

more than usual, looking more mousy than ever. Her grey

suit didn"t exactly correct that impression. It looked like they

were both expecting to be convicted.

Good!

The judge took the piece of paper from the bailiff, read

it, and folded it back to its original size before returning it to

the uniformed official. When it had been officially filed, the

judge looked back at the jury foreman.

“What is your verdict on the charges against Brian

Tabbart of kidnapping Jakob Carstens by breaking and

entering the property of his legal guardian, Magnus

Carstens?” The judge turned his full attention back onto the

jury.

How had this shy man managed to get himself elected?

Jakob"s hand tightened in his and he squeezed back in

reassurance.

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23

“We find Brian Tabbart guilty on all counts.” The poor

man looked like a deer in the headlights.

“What is your verdict on the charges against Nancy

Tabbart of kidnapping Jakob Carstens by breaking and

entering the property of his legal guardian, Magnus

Carstens?” The judge had kept his attention on the jury.

“We find Nancy Tabbart guilty on all counts.” The

stressed foreman heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed back

onto his seat.

“Yes!” Jakob"s exuberant reply was soft enough not to be

heard by too many people, but there was a small chuckle

from the direction of the prosecutor in front of them.

When Ms. Baxter turned around to shake their hands in

congratulation, not a facial muscle was out of place, though.

With acting skills like that, Magnus was sure the woman

would advance quickly in her chosen career.

“This court will come to order!” The judge banged his

gavel.

Right, they weren"t done yet. But Magnus didn"t have

the patience to listen to all the usual pronouncements,

reminders about appeals, and the date for sentencing. It was

over for now—Brian and Nancy would be going back to

prison, and would most likely stay there. Ms. Baxter had

explained that an appeal was unlikely to succeed in this

case. The facts were clear-cut, and the Tabbarts would think

twice about more legal fees.

Turning to Jakob, Magnus was elated by the look of

relief on the boy"s face. While Jakob had been happy about

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24

all their activities, the uncertainty about the outcome of the

trial had impacted them all.

“It"s over, isn"t it?” Jakob grinned from ear to ear. “They

won"t be let out of prison now, will they?”

“Yes, it"s over, and I think they"ll be locked up for a very

long time. We can check with Ms. Baxter exactly how long

once the judge has pronounced his sentence. But we don"t

have to stick around for that, if we don"t want to.” Magnus

smiled back. “I suggest we go home as soon as possible.”

“Please.” Jakob nodded and got up, turning around to

leave the courtroom.