Mark Vincent has risen from senior special agent to Director of Interior Affairs in the WBIS. Lately, life has been sweet for him -- in addition to his promotion, he's found a partner in Quinton Mann, who can almost match his ability in the intelligence field, in spite of the fact Quinn's CIA. Mark has also found a condo in Alexandria with the help of Portia Mann, Quinn's mother, and it's closer to Quinn's town house than Mark's present apartment. Sweetest of all, Mark plans to take Quinn to his island in the Caribbean for the holidays.<br><br>Quinn's glad he has the holiday with Mark to look forward to -- something is going on at Langley, and he feels he's being kept out of the loop. To make matters even worse, useless missions and sleepless nights filled with nightmares are leaving him exhausted. But then his mother's life if threatened, and Quinn discovers the accident that resulted in her hospitalization was no accident. The obsessively self-absorbed Senator Wexler is involved, and while Quinn considers himself a civilized man, now he's out for blood.<br><br>Up until this point, Mark has stayed out of Quinn's CIA business. But hurting Quinn and those he loves isn't a smart move, and Mark has every intention of seeing Wexler pays. Quinn demands to come along, and while Mark isn't happy, he finally agrees, and they set out together to deal with the senator. There's just one catch: this will be the first time Quinn sees Mark at his deadly best, and Mark isn't sure how his lover will react.

Forever

Hazel eyes opened and stared up into mine, but Quinn wasn’t seeing me. “Non!” His voice was hoarse, filled with pain. “Non! Il ne peut pas être mort! Qu’avez-vous fait?”


Automatically, I translated the words. No! He can’t be dead! What have you done?


His accent was flawless. Of course. His first male lover had been French, and what better way to learn a language than in bed? Although knowing Mann, he was probably pretty damned fluent even before that bozo.


I brushed the hair off his forehead, which was cool and clammy with sweat, then pulled him up against me. “I’m here, Quinn; I’ve got you.”


His body stiffened, but I just held on, absorbing the tremors that rippled through him.


“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” What nightmare world was he trapped in?


“Mark?” My name whispered past his lips. He stopped struggling and sagged against me.


“No.” He brought his arms around me and dug his fingers into my back.


Chapter 38