With This Ring Read online

  His lover complied, thrusting into him. What had started out tender and loving became fast, furious. When Vic sensed Matt was close to coming, he gripped his own dick in one hand and jerked off, shooting onto his lover’s chest and belly. The sight triggered Matt’s release—Vic felt it burn through him like wildfire, igniting his blood, and eliciting in him a second, more forceful orgasm.

  Later, as they cuddled beneath the covers, drifting off to sleep, Vic could still feel Matt inside him, his juices sizzling away deep in the very center of his being. He wondered what power they were possibly cooking up this time, what ability he’d wake with in the morning.

  Huddled in his embrace, Matt picked up on that thought murmured, “This is probably the last time you have to put up with it.”

  Vic frowned. He didn’t mind putting up with it, but he kept that thought to himself.

  * * * *

  Matt kept saying he hated the powers because they put Vic in danger. To be completely honest, Vic never thought of them in that way. The powers were a nuisance, sure, and he’d give them up in an instant if that was what Matt wanted, but he didn’t really think they’d kill him. He never went out of his way to do stupid, heroic things—he reacted without thought, trusting in himself and the powers he used to help others. Trusting in Matt, and knowing the powers were an extension of his lover’s feelings for him. How could Vic get hurt when he felt Matt’s love flare in his muscles or swirl through his veins? The powers protected him, Vic thought. In all the years they’d been together, he’d never once used them in a way that deliberately put him in danger. While he knew he wasn’t invincible—far from it—he also knew the limits of his abilities. All of them, super or not.

  Still, they could be troublesome, as Vic was so blatantly reminded on the day before their meeting with Dr. Channarayapatra.

  He woke up early Friday morning feeling hot and bothered. And not in a good way. Sweat drenched his back, pooling at the base of his spine and in his armpits, between his legs. Disentangling himself from Matt, still asleep, Vic tossed back the sheets and slipped out of bed. The cool air felt heavenly on his nakedness. A glance at the clock told him it wasn’t even five in the morning yet, and he felt wide awake. Damn.

  Despite his lack of clothing, Vic still felt warm. Fanning himself with one hand, he headed for the bathroom, where he squinted in the bright light at his reflection in the mirror. His skin was flushed, his cheeks a bright shade of red that was almost alarming, and sweat beaded on his scalp to drip down his face and neck. The towel he’d used the night before still lay on the ground; Vic snatched it up to wipe at the sweat from his face. The cloth was still damp from his shower, and smelled vaguely of smoke. In fact, where Vic touched it, the towel actually appeared to be smoking…

  With a jolt, he threw it onto the sink. Burn marks in the shape of his hands singed the terrycloth. Vic stared at his fingers but saw only his own skin—no burns, no flames, nothing out of the ordinary. Reaching out, he touched a fingertip to the edge of the towel, and a fine line of grey smoke curled up from the cloth. Vic pressed harder; he could hear a faint sizzle, then his finger burned through completely. When he pulled it back, he saw a neat, round hole in the towel that looked like a cigarette burn. What the hell?

  When Vic touched the counter, nothing happened. No, of course not—the countertop was made from granite. But his fingers burned right through his toothbrush, melting the plastic, and both halves drooped from his hand like those clocks in that strange Dali painting. And it wasn’t just his hands—when Vic backed away from the sink, his bare leg brushed the shower curtain and the damn thing went up in flames.

  Fuck.

  The smoke alarm in the hallway went off before he could douse the fire. Every time he touched something, it too began to smolder. By the time Matt burst through the bathroom door, the shower curtain hung in flames from the rod, which had begun to buckle from the heat. As if not to be forgotten, the towel burned in the sink, low flames guttering beneath the rush of water from the tap. The rug that had been under Vic’s feet also smoked, and he stood in the bathtub, Matt’s loofah reduced to ashes in one hand. Matt stood in the doorway, the light from the flames flickering off his nude body, and gaped at Vic across a bathroom that looked like a war zone. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

  Vic sort of shrugged. “I can’t touch anything.” Running a hand over his brow to wipe away sweat, he asked, “Can you turn that fucking alarm off? It’s giving me a headache.”

  Matt disappeared down the hall. Two seconds later, the fire alarm cut off in mid-blast. Then he was back, picking his way around small fires that burned in the rug in the shape of Vic’s footsteps. But when he held out a hand to touch his lover, Vic moved out of reach. “Don’t,” he warned. “You’ll just burn yourself.”

  “Looks like another day off from work,” Matt said. His mouth twisted, an unreadable expression on his face, but Vic tapped into his thoughts and knew his lover was torn between laughing this off and the seriousness of the situation. What if Vic hadn’t woken up? Would he have set the bed on fire? Burned Matt?

  God.

  Hunkering down in the tub, Vic covered his face with his hands and sighed. “At least we’re going to see this guy tomorrow,” he muttered. As much as he hated to admit it, maybe it was for the best.

  * * * *

  A little after noon on Saturday, Vic eased his car into an empty parking spot in front of the Central Park Deli in Chester, south of Richmond and a good half hour’s drive from the apartment he shared with Matt. But the deli was close to Armour Labs, which they spotted as they exited the interstate, and the doctor had chosen to meet them during his lunch hour. Vic thought it odd the man didn’t have weekends off. Perhaps he’d hoped to lure Matt out of the city? Have a couple beers at this deli, get Matt sloshed enough to convince him not to drive home, then do whatever he could to get the powers for himself…

  Planting a quick kiss on Vic’s cheek as he parked the car, Matt told his lover, “You’re paranoid, you know that? Not everyone is out to get me.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Vic grumbled. “Meantime? I’ll keep my guard up, thank you very much.”

  They exited opposite sides of the car, Vic slamming his door a little too hard. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and hunkered down to keep the chill air off the back of his neck. Matt waited for him by the trunk, and when Vic came close enough, he stuck a hand in Vic’s pocket as well, his fingers threading through Vic’s with ease. “Smile,” he chided, snuggling up against Vic. “This guy’s gonna take one look at you and run for his life.”

  “He better,” Vic muttered.

  With a laugh, Matt kissed his shoulder, a touch unfelt through the jacket he wore, but it pleased him nonetheless. Just being with Matt was enough to lighten his mood, and Vic had to remember to keep the frown on his face as they approached the deli.

  A man waited for them by the front door. Younger than Vic had imagined he would be, the man stood about Matt’s height, and if his name hadn’t been a clue to his ethnicity, the straight black hair and dark skin like polished mahogany spoke of Indian descent. “Ah,” he said, grin widening when he saw Matt. His gaze flickered to Vic then away again, as if afraid to look at him for long. “Mr. diLorenzo. I’m glad you could make it. And you brought a friend.”

  He didn’t sound too happy about that last bit, and there was little trace of an accent in his voice. It made Vic wonder about the whole “my village” line he’d fed Matt. Out of habit, Vic dipped into the doctor’s mind, hoping to pick up a few answers…

  What sounded like a Hindi nursery rhyme circled his thoughts, obscuring them from Vic. Punikum punikum kalyanamam, over and over again. When Vic tried to get around it, he found himself caught up in the singsong rhythm. Sure, most people had nonsense cluttering their minds, interrupting their thoughts like bursts of static, but this seemed almost…deliberate.

  As Matt introduced him, Vic narrowed his eyes and pinned the do
ctor with a distrustful glare. “Call me Dr. Veej,” the man said, holding a hand out to Vic. “It’s so great to meet you.”

  His hand hung there between them. Vic made no move to extract his from his pockets. His reply was a mental one, spoken directly into the doctor’s head. ::Cut the crap, doctor. We all know this isn’t a social visit.::

  Matt’s hand tightened around his. “Vic,” he murmured, his smile cranking up a notch. “Be nice.”

  The doctor looked between them, confused. “Well.” He pulled back his hand, rubbed it on the front of his shirt as if wiping away something unpleasant, then turned his smile to Matt again. “I only have a short time here, and I have a lot to say. Are you gentlemen hungry?”

  Without waiting for a reply, he opened the door behind him and ushered them into the deli. Again Vic tried to delve into the man’s mind, but that damn song kept him out. As the doctor led them to a booth, Vic held back, keeping Matt with him. His lover glanced at him, concerned, then spoke through the connection they shared. ::Was is it?::

  ::I can’t read his mind,:: he admitted. That bothered him more than he thought possible. He hated hearing others’ thoughts jumbled up with his, but the one time he needed to tune in, he found himself blocked. ::He’s got some stupid song in his head—::

  Matt grinned. ::Happens to me all the time, I get some tune stuck on repeat and it drives me crazy.:: He sent Vic a mental image of the two of them in a strip club, Vic sitting in front of a stage and Matt writhing against a pole, dressed in only a Speedo bikini that strained across a thick erection. Off-key, he sang, ::I’m bringing sexy back.::

  ::No, I mean…:: The sight of his lover grinding a stripper pole distracted Vic from anything he’d been trying to say. He gave Matt a playful shove into the booth across from Dr. Veej, then dropped into the seat beside him. ::We’re coming back to that,:: he promised.

  Picking up a menu, Matt hid behind it as he glanced over the deli’s fare. ::You can’t do a proper striptease without a pole.::

  ::I’ll put one in.::

  Vic glanced across the table and caught the doctor watching him, a faint smile on his face, as if he knew they were carrying on a conversation just beyond his hearing. But that smile disappeared when he met Vic’s stern gaze. “Gentlemen,” he said, leaning closer. One hand reached into the pocket of his jacket and Vic tensed, but he only pulled out a small plastic box which didn’t look too dangerous. It was maybe two inches square, a half inch deep, and frosted to hide the contents. “I believe this is why you are here.”

  Curious, Matt leaned forward. “What is it?”

  Opening the box, Dr. Veej held it out to let them get a good look. Vic was less than impressed. A thick, black rubber band lay inside. What looked like a small transistor was attached to the band, but Vic couldn’t begin to imagine what its purpose might be. How was this supposed to curb the powers? Where the hell did it even go?

  Then it dawned on him. “Ahh,” he said. At the quizzical look on Matt’s face, Vic explained, “It’s a cock ring, isn’t it?”

  The doctor’s grin spread even wider, if that were possible. “Very good, Mr. Braunson. The material is a polymer I’ve been working with for years now—”

  Vic interrupted. “Since when, grad school?”

  “For a while,” the doctor hedged. When Vic tried to pluck a more definite figure from his head, though, the rhythmic song kept him from finding out more. “The polymer is ionized,” he continued, “and helps conduct a charge emitted by the transformer. It’s all very complicated, but in layman’s terms, the charge negates the sperm when it passes from the vas deferens into the ejaculatory duct.”

  Matt snickered. With a glance at his lover, Vic asked, “Charge? As in what?”

  “Sort of like…” The doctor shrugged, then moved his head from side to side as if weighing two different options. “You could say an electrical charge,” he finally admitted. “Nothing you’d feel, really. Just very slight. But it negates the sperm—”

  “Negates?” Vic questioned. He didn’t like the way the doctor was glossing over what Vic considered to be important facts. “What does that mean, exactly?”

  Another weighing motion. Beside Vic, Matt slipped a hand over his lover’s thigh, angling his fingers into the warmth of Vic’s crotch. “I don’t want something that’s going to shock my nuts,” he muttered.

  The doctor’s grin returned. “There is no shock, Mr. diLorenzo. I assure you. Most people feel nothing when it transmits the charge. Touch it now. Feel it for yourself.”

  He held the box out. Cautiously, Matt poked at the cock ring with one forefinger. When he didn’t feel anything, he touched it again, lingering this time. Then he picked the ring up and rubbed his thumb along its length. “It’s transmitting now?” he asked, surprise evident in his voice.

  “Constantly,” the doctor assured him. “See what I mean? No discomfort. Wear this all the time, if you want. Then there’s no worrying about where it might be when you’re ready to make love. If you want to follow me to the bathroom, I can show you how to put it on—”

  Vic growled, “I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

  “Of course!” The doctor took the ring from Matt and returned it to the box. With a self-conscious laugh, he avoided Vic’s gaze as he said, “Don’t mind me. I get excited about my work, is all. You use this, it negates the sperm, and the powers disappear.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Vic glared at the doctor, who studiously ignored him. “You keep using that word,” Matt said, giving Vic’s leg a comforting squeeze. “Negates. What’s that mean exactly?”

  “It kills the sperm,” the doctor explained. “So you’ll ejaculate as normal, but the sperm won’t be viable. My belief is the powers reside in the spermatozoa themselves, and not in the seminal fluid. That’s why they’re effective only if ejaculated into another during intercourse. Outside the body, human sperm lives for about an hour, maybe longer if kept moist and warm, or flash frozen into a state of suspended stasis. Just sticking it in the freezer at home won’t work. In your case, I believe the powers may give your sperm an even shorter lifespan, since they won’t work if artificially inseminated, so I figured they would disappear altogether if the sperm itself dies.”

  Matt nodded. “That’s true. Vic, remember—”

  Vic covered Matt’s hand with his own, silencing his lover. He didn’t trust this man across from them, and didn’t want Matt saying anything the doctor could manipulate to fit his agenda, whatever that might be. “How do you know this?”

  “My research,” the doctor said. The song in his head grew louder, drowning out Vic’s attempts to read his thoughts and discern the truth of that statement. “My sister is engaged to a man whose mother was stoned for these powers.” To Matt, he asked, “Did you not tell him?”

  Matt nodded and gave Vic a quick smile. “He knows. He just doesn’t believe you.”

  “What’s to believe?” The doctor’s laugh sounded insincere and forced to Vic. “It’s the truth. It works. Use this, and your lives will return to normal. No more superpowers for you, I promise.”

  Chapter 6

  Matt stared at Dr. Channarayapatra’s cock ring with a sense of disbelief. To think turning off the powers would be so easy! He knew some forms of energy killed sperm—he’d heard stories of men rendered infertile after being subjected to radiation such as X-rays or microwaves, and it made sense that electricity could work just as well. If the doctor were right, then this little band would help him keep Vic safe…or at least, not put him in any further danger. “And it works?” he asked, placing the ring back in its box.

  “Hundred percent,” the doctor assured him. “In theory.”

  Beside Matt, Vic grunted. “Which means you haven’t tested it yet.”

  “Only for lack of subjects.” Dr. Veej gave Matt a disarming grin. “You’ll be my first.”

  With a laugh, Matt joked, “Lucky me.”

  He glanced at his lover, whose stony gaze was trained on the man before them. Mat
t gave Vic’s leg a quick squeeze, hoping to turn those blue eyes his way, but all he succeeded in doing was cause Vic to fold his arms across his chest. He looked frightful, with his harsh frown, his distrusting glare, and now the closed-off gesture that told the doctor and everyone around them exactly how he felt about this little meeting. Speaking to Vic telepathically, Matt asked, ::What do you think?::

  ::I think he’s lying,:: Vic replied, ::but he’s blocking me from reading his mind, so I can’t tell you why.::

  Matt knew he was probably being a bit careless about the whole thing, but he wanted this ring to work so badly…he still shuddered to think of Vic stuck in the bathtub the day before, unable to get dressed, unable to go to work, unable to do anything that might cause him to set the world around him on fire. Thankfully that power had eventually worn off, but Matt couldn’t even kiss him until it did. Still, a healthy dose of skepticism wouldn’t hurt. That’s why I brought Vic. I trust too much, he doesn’t trust enough. Together we’re perfect.

  Out loud, Vic asked, “How’s it hold up in water?”

  “Fine,” Dr. Veej said quickly with a nod of his head. “Fine.”

  Latching onto his lover’s question, Matt asked, “It won’t electrocute me, will it? Because I work at a pool, I’m always in the water, and a lot of times we…you know, in the shower. Will that be a problem?”

  “Not at all,” the doctor assured him. His grin widened, if that were possible, dazzling Matt with a smile of bright, even teeth. When his gaze dropped from Matt’s to linger on his mouth, a pink tongue licked out to wet the doctor’s lips. With hooded eyes, he said, “Tell me, where else might you use—”