Legal Artistry (21 page)

"I know the feeling,” Gerald said with a hard kiss, “I've already fallen for you."

"Oh,” Dieter gasped as his body reacted physically to Gerald's sentiment.

"Come for me, sweetheart. I want to see you come without touching yourself.” Gerald groaned as he drove deep, and Dieter arched his back up against Gerald's body, his cock brushing lightly against Gerald's skin, but that was just enough to send him over the edge with a cry that filled the room and echoed off the walls, leaving Dieter feeling a little hoarse as his body throbbed and he felt his release from his head to the heels of his feet. Then he felt Gerald tense before burying himself deep into his body as his lover's orgasm overtook him.

Collapsing back onto the mattress, Dieter managed to keep his eyes open long enough to see the amazing smile on Gerald's face. Then his eyes slid closed, and he gasped softly when their bodies disconnected before settling back down against the warmth of the mattress. He felt Gerald kiss him, and he watched through half-lidded eyes as Gerald retrieved a cloth and, after a cleanup, climbed into bed with him. Dieter rolled onto his side, holding Gerald tightly to him as Gerald's arm settled around his back, a hand stroking lightly along his skin. “I love you, sweetheart,” Gerald said, and Dieter angled his face toward the sound of Gerald's words, sleep already threatening to overtake him.

"I love you too,” Dieter replied happily before receiving a gentle kiss. Then he settled his head against the pillow and began to fall asleep to the sound of Gerald's soft chuckles. “What?” he mumbled, snuggling a little closer to the warmth.

"You're so cute. You always cuddle close and fall asleep after sex,” Gerald told him, continuing to gently rub his skin.

"You want to talk?” Dieter asked, trying to roll over and open his eyes.

"No. Go to sleep,” Gerald said softly, and Dieter slid his eyes closed, his mind already floating on happy, contented clouds that blew apart at an annoying ringing sound.

"Make it stop,” Dieter said, burying his head in the crook of Gerald's arm, trying to escape the noise. He heard another soft chuckle and then felt the bed shake as the warmth near him slipped away. Rolling to where Gerald had been lying, Dieter soaked in his residual warmth as he heard his lover answer the phone, his voice getting closer. He didn't really pay attention to what was being said, but he heard Gerald say good-bye and then soft laughter as he tried to get back into bed.

"You took my spot,” Gerald said before tapping Dieter's hip, and he slid over as Gerald's warmth rejoined him in the bed. “By the way, that was your phone,” Gerald told him. “The call was from Mark. He called because he and some friends were going dancing tomorrow night and he wanted to know if you'd like to come along. I hope it's okay, but I said it sounded like fun.” Gerald settled on the mattress, and Dieter felt him spoon to his back. “I like holding you like this.” Gerald kissed his shoulder, and Dieter made an unidentifiable sound as sleep overtook him again.

Dieter slept like the dead and woke to an empty bed. Stretching, he opened his eyes to sunshine peeking around the curtains of Gerald's bedroom windows. A slight twinge or soreness caught his attention, but it wasn't too painful and tended to remind him of the loving he'd received the night before. Pushing back the covers, Dieter followed his nose through the house and into the kitchen.

"You're still naked,” Gerald commented with a leer from the stove. “Not that I'm complaining.” Gerald stepped closer, and Dieter found himself wrapped in strong arms with warm hands cupping his butt. “I like this.” Their kiss tasted minty, and Dieter sighed as the kiss deepened and his body reacted, his cock sliding against the soft fabric of Gerald's sweats. “You should get dressed before I forget breakfast and just drag you back to bed."

Dieter thought going back to bed sounded like a marvelous idea, but his stomach growled, reminding him that he really needed to eat. Stepping away from Gerald's incredible hands, he padded back toward the bedroom. “There are sweats in the bottom drawer if you'd like to borrow a pair,” Gerald said as Dieter walked down the hall.

Opening the bottom drawer, he found a pair of old gray sweats and stepped into them. They were clean, but they still carried a bit of Gerald's scent, which he found quite nice. Padding back to the kitchen, he saw Gerald placing breakfast on the small table. “What did you have planned for today?” Dieter asked after he sat down and Gerald had joined him.

"Other than spending most of the day in bed with you? I need to get some wine for dinner, and I thought we could visit your friends Mark and Tyler if you wanted. My mother practically commanded me to come to dinner tonight, but I told her that I had other plans."

Dieter swallowed a bite of his eggs. “I don't want to come between you and your family."

"You're not. It's just that I'd rather spend some time with you right now. Since we got back from Vienna, we haven't had a lot of time together, and I missed spending time with you."

Dieter smiled as he took another bite. “I was wondering.... What happens now? I mean, you filed suit, but what happens next?"

"We wait for the Austrians to respond. The court will notify them, and they will be given a certain amount of time to respond. I suspect that I'll be hearing from their legal representation fairly soon."

That's what he'd been afraid of. “You tried to warn me this could take time, but I just want it over with."

"Try not to think about it too much. Sometimes things can drag themselves out for a long time. We have to be patient. Sometimes, though, we get lucky and things move relatively quickly. We'll just have to see. If we were filing our suit in Los Angeles or New York, it could take years, but we filed in Milwaukee, where the bench has been fairly stable and full, so their docket isn't as backed up,” Gerald told him, reaching across the table to take Dieter's hand. “I don't want you to worry about anything to do with the lawsuit right now. We've done all we can for now."

Dieter blew out the breath he'd been holding. “I guess you're right. You told me we were on a long road once."

"And this is just one of the early steps,” Gerald finished, and they went back to eating, but Dieter still felt nervous and jumpy.

"What if we lose?” Dieter asked.

"No matter what happens, we'll know we did our best. If we didn't do something, you'd never have a chance to get the paintings back. So you're doing the only thing open to you.” Gerald stood and moved behind Dieter, nuzzling behind one of his ears.

"I know this is going to be hard and nerve-wracking. The other side is going to try to make it as difficult as possible, hoping you'll give up. That's what they do. Our job is to stand firm, and we'll need to fight the entire way. You may not always like the way I have to fight, but that's what I'll be doing.” Dieter turned to look at Gerald. “I love you, Dieter, and I want this because you want this.” Gerald kissed him lightly. “Now let's finish our breakfast and find something much more fun to take our minds off courts and lawsuits."

Dieter set his fork on the plate and turned toward Gerald, pulling him in for a kiss before standing up and moving them toward the bedroom. He'd had more than enough to eat, and it seemed Gerald had as well.

The rest of their weekend was magical. They made love so many times, Dieter lost count. On Saturday afternoon, they visited Sean at the wine store. Gerald bought some wine while Dieter and Sean talked and caught up. They also walked to Tyler and Mark's, visiting with both of them for a while and agreeing to meet at Snugs for drinks and dancing later that evening. Then Gerald and Dieter returned to Gerald's, where they curled together on the sofa to watch a movie. The movie quickly became an accompaniment to kissing, petting, and another round of passionate lovemaking that left Dieter breathless.

"I think we can forget the movie,” Gerald told him as he reached for the remote to turn off the television.

"Yeah,” Dieter replied as he leaned against Gerald, soaking up his warmth and basking in his heady scent. “Were we meeting for dinner or just dancing?"

"I wasn't sure. They said they were meeting at the Kettle for dinner, and that we were welcome to join them. I wasn't sure what you'd like to do, so I left it open, but if you're up for it, we could clean up and join them."

Dieter held on to Gerald, not quite ready to move yet. “In a few minutes."

Gerald chuckled, deep and rich. “We have all the time in the world,” he said as Dieter's arms pulled him tight. “But I think I'm starting to get a little hungry."

Dieter gave Gerald another hug. “Then I think we better get dressed.” Dieter got up and walked with Gerald into the bedroom, where he dug some clothes out of his bag, and after dressing, they left the house, arriving at the restaurant as Mark and Tyler arrived as well.

"Hey, guys,” Tyler called as he held the door, and they walked inside. Sean and Sam were waiting at a large table along with some of the customers Dieter knew from working at the wine store.

"Gerald,” Sean said as he stood up to shake hands, “you remember Sam.” They shook hands as well. “And these are our old friends, Tom and Bill, and this is Gary and his partner, Scott.” Gerald shook hands with everyone, and Dieter shook hands with Gary and Scott, but got a warm hug from both Tom and Bill. They were both friends of Sean and Sam, and Dieter had met them many times at the wine store. Everyone sat down, and the conversation began in earnest. It was a great meal, and Gerald and Dieter told everyone about their trip.

After dinner, everyone walked over to the bar. Slow music drifted out when they opened the door. Dieter had been expecting hard beat, like at Dance All Night, but this was even better. Everyone made their way to the back of the bar, finding a few tables around the dance floor. After getting drinks, Tom and Bill began to dance, the two men holding each other close. Mark and Tyler joined them, and so did Sean and Sam. Gary and Scott sat at the tables with Gerald and Dieter, watching the others. Then Scott led Gary to the dance floor, and the two of them were left sitting alone. “You didn't bring me here to watch other people dance, did you?” Dieter asked.

"You know I have two left feet,” Gerald retorted, and Dieter stood up and extended his hand.

"It's easy. All you do is hold me and sway to the music,” Dieter said, rolling his eyes, and Gerald finally got up and demonstrated that even with two left feet, he was still great fun on the dance floor. Once Dieter got him to dance, Gerald didn't leave the floor all night. Songs played and ended, but Gerald held him and swayed to the music while Dieter spent most of the evening with his head resting against Gerald's shoulder. He had a difficult time remembering a more wonderful evening in his whole life. And once they made it back to Gerald's, they made love again, slowly and quietly, like they were still moving on the dance floor.

The remainder of the weekend was calm and relaxed, and on Monday morning Dieter hated going back to work. He and Gerald talked every evening, but it was the call Dieter received on Wednesday afternoon that surprised him.

"Dieter, we received a call from the Austrian consulate, and they said that their attorney will be here at four today,” Gerald told him, and Dieter felt a lurch of nervous excitement. “I don't know if that's normal, but I was calling to ask if you'd like to join us. You don't have to, and this meeting will probably be pretty boring, but I wanted you to know."

Dieter checked the clock on his desk. He had plenty of work he needed to get done. “I'll try to be there.” Dieter hung up his phone before returning his attention to the program he was working on.

"Is everything okay?” Reed asked as he stepped around the partition.

"Yes,” Dieter answered rather quickly, his nerves making him jumpy. “I need to meet with the lawyers after work, and I'm a little nervous. Thankfully I got in early this morning, but I need to figure out what's wrong with this code before I leave, and it's not cooperating."

Reed pulled up the chair next to his desk before peering at his screen. “What is it doing?” he asked.

Dieter told him as best he could. “There don't appear to be any issues with the data."

"This system is as old as the hills. Whenever I work on it, I have to ask what's happening now that's new, because these jobs have been running for fifteen years.” Reed pointed to the screen and began looking through the code. Soon he said, “Do you see it now?"

"Yeah.” Dieter turned toward him and smiled. “Thank you."

"No problem. These systems should probably be replaced....” He gave Dieter another smile and walked back to his desk while Dieter made the change and began completing the required documentation. Thankfully, the rest of the day was quiet, and Dieter had been able to move the fix into production without any issues, so after explaining the situation to his supervisor, Dieter left the office and managed to make it downtown and into the parking garage a few minutes before the meeting.

Pressing the button for the elevator in the lobby, Dieter looked around him as he waited and saw someone familiar approaching. He couldn't quite remember why he knew him, but the man had “attorney” written all over him. As the elevator doors slid open, Dieter remembered. It was Gerald's brother Angus. Dieter got inside and Angus got in as well, along with the two men with him. Angus glanced at Dieter briefly, but he didn't seem to recognize him. Dieter pressed the button for Gerald's floor, and he noticed that they seemed to be going there as well. Dieter got an unsettled feeling in his stomach and it wasn't from the elevator ride.

Reaching the floor, the doors parted and Dieter let the others exit first. Angus walked right up to the receptionist, explaining why he was here, and she asked them to have a seat. Dieter approached her once they had sat down, and she immediately recognized him. “He'll be right out,” she explained, and Dieter took a seat, occasionally looking over at Angus, who still hadn't recognized him.

Dieter didn't have long to wait before the lobby door opened and Gerald walked up to him. “Come on back, we're ready for you.” Dieter stood up and saw the exact moment Gerald realized his brother was sitting in the lobby.