Chain Lightning III - How to Cut a Diamond

How to Cut a Diamond

Chapter six

The Stone is Set


Sean lay on his back in his bed. Occasionally he glanced out of his window at the night sky. The rain had stopped and the sky had been swept clean of clouds, leaving a blue-black canvas on which was spattered the clear sliver-white specks called stars and a perfectly full moon around which was a blue-white halo of almost magical beauty. It was a stargazer’s sky made for dreaming, but Sean wasn’t dreaming because he wasn’t sleeping.

It was a beautiful sky, one that normally would have kept his eyes and mind occupied until he drifted off to sleep the sleep of the guiltless. Sean, however, wasn’t feeling quite so guiltless. He had a little problem. Said problem wasn’t having a bit of trouble sleeping. Said problem, one William Boyd, lay as he had fallen asleep, his head pillowed on Sean’s chest, one hand curled near his cheek. Now that, Sean considered, was the sleep of the guiltless.

As well as should be. Billy had nothing to feel guilty about. In fact, Billy had gone completely against his nature to accommodate Sean’s needs, that and more. It was plain to Sean that Billy had been caught in a web of desire, desire and something that went much, much further than simple lust. It was plain to see from any number of things. It was in Billy’s compliance, in the way he shivered when Sean touched him or told him what he wanted him to do. It was in the way he looked at Sean, in his caresses, his kisses, even in the contentment of sleep. Sean was sure that secret kiss business had a lot to do with it. And that secret kiss business, well, Sean hadn’t really bought into it any more than Billy had, he’d only thought of it as a way to get what he wanted out of his conquest. Sean did not fail to appreciate the irony of that.

This had all happened with mind-boggling speed. All Sean had wanted was the thrill of pursuit and satisfaction of conquest, maybe even bragging rights, and now Sean was wondering if he had done Billy a terrible wrong. But feeling guilty wasn’t the only reason Sean wasn’t sleeping.

Sean raised his hand to his chest, touching Billy’s curled fingers, then letting his fingertips rest between each of Billy’s fingers. He heaved a sigh and allowed himself a self-deprecating grin. Moonlight bathed the two bodies in Sean’s bed, giving them the appearance of a ghostly glow. Billy shifted a little in his sleep, curling his fingers around Sean’s fingers before settling back into a deeper slumber. He had been so tired from a trying and long day of work and not sleeping the night before, and the depth of his sleep now was an indicator of just how tired the Scotsman had been. And then there had been the night. Sean couldn’t help a small smile creeping around his mouth at this last thought.

Well, the shoe was on the other foot, now. Tomorrow makeup would be working double-time on the dark circles under Sean’s eyes instead of Billy’s. Of course their lovemaking had taken a lot out of both of them, especially Billy, as he hadn’t slept the night before. Tomorrow it would be Sean who would have to contend with a sleep debt and tomorrow it would be Sean who bore the brunt of this night’s passion, but even these two anticipated problems paled when compared with the consequences of Sean’s seduction. If Billy found out Sean had fucked with the wiring in his car, Sean wasn’t so sure how he would react. Ordinarily this wouldn’t have bothered Sean in the least. He had played dirty before when pursuing a potential conquest, and he’d done it often enough that he’d become more than proficient at it.

And therein lay his problem.

How on earth could he allow Billy to be wounded if he found out Sean had gone so far as to sabotage the car? If Billy had been more arbitrary, if he had even been a little more trouble, taken a little more pursuing, Sean wouldn’t have been bothered in the least for Billy to find out. Had this been the case, Sean wouldn’t be lying here knowing full well that he wasn’t going to get so much as a wink of sleep. Only it wasn’t that simple.

Sean’s plans had for once gone too well. Sean heaved a sigh once more. Why did Billy have to go and do it? Why had Billy gone entirely against his nature? Why did he have to go and be so…so…oh, hell, so damned sweet and trusting, so damned giving? And why the fuck did Billy have to go and be such a hot lay? Sean allowed himself another smile. Sean glanced at his hand and found that it had, apparently of its own accord, curled around Billy’s fingers.

Billy’s reputation as being so aggressive and dominant only made Sean laugh at himself even more. Billy being aggressive and dominant with everyone else only made his pliancy, his desire to please Sean all the more sexy, all the more powerful. Apparently he had wanted Sean enough to go against every tendency in his wee Scottish heart. It had to be a blow to his ego. Billy, in his own way, did have a proud streak. He may be one of those people that are naturally sweet natured, but he was in no way, shape or form a pushover. Yet he had wanted Sean enough to forego his basic and most primal instincts.

Pliant. Submissive. Giving. Nothing about these descriptives indicated power or control. This meant nothing in the face of what stirred in Sean’s heart right now. Now Sean had to go against everything in his own personality. He was worrying about how Billy might react should he discover the lengths Sean had gone to in the name of sexual conquest. The calculated words, the manipulative behavior, the vandalizing; it would seem so…well, cold-blooded and just plain heartless…and if Billy did think he was cold-blooded, would he not be all too right? For this, in light of Billy’s compliance and honesty and apparent love, Sean felt entirely guilty.

For a man such as himself, the ability of another to inspire such feelings, the ability to cause so much anxiety, was nothing if not powerful. If it isn’t powerful, thought Sean, then I wouldn’t be lying here not sleeping in my own damned bed with my arm going completely numb and worrying about what my latest trick is going to think if he finds out what I’ve done.

Sean heaved another sigh, laughed at himself yet again. His latest trick stirred again and Sean found himself struggling to not yawn, to not sigh, and to not laugh at himself. Once it hit home what he was doing it was a lost cause, and he began to laugh out loud. His latest trick opened heavy-lidded eyes, yawned, stretched and smiled up at Sean. When he was awake enough to realize Sean’s hand was around his own hand, his face brightened; his eyes sparkled. He licked his lips as his smile broadened. At once Sean found himself yet again blinded by the sparkle of the stone he had crafted into a gem of brilliance and light. Billy wriggled upwards and nibbled an ear, making goose-flesh jump all over Sean.

“Sean?” Billy said around a yawn, “Do I have to be a spoilt brat to…”

And Sean, being Mr. Dominant himself, found himself responding automatically; like the leader he was he found himself reacting in just the way his commander wanted. Billy didn’t have to say another word because Sean, without so much as thinking about it, turned his face, tightened his tingling arm around Billy’s shoulders and silenced Billy’s question instantly.

Yes, like a pepper dipped in honey…


Afterwards Billy once more fell asleep with his head on Sean’s chest and one hand curled into Sean’s hand as it rested beside his face. Sleep, however, had no intention of offering Sean a respite from his problems. In fact, Sean felt more than ever that sleep was a fugitive this night. When the alarm went off it was almost a relief.

When Billy went to hair and makeup Sean had plenty of time to reconnect the wiring in Billy’s car. He had been so engrossed in what he was doing he never even noticed Viggo take his photo before bidding Sean a good morning.

“What are you up to, Bean?” Viggo grinned.

“Nothing!” Sean barked, looking and acting like the guilty creature he was.

“Nothing?” Viggo replied, eyebrow cocked.

“Nothing! I said I was doing nothing, okay?”

“Nothing,” Viggo said, grinning even more broadly.

“Nothing! Okay, Vig? Just… nothing, nothing.”

“Nothing.”

“That’s right, nothing.”

“So then, you wouldn’t mind if Billy knew about this…nothing?”

“Christ, Viggo.” Sean said, now completely flabbergasted and at a loss for words.

“Well?” Viggo said. The grin was now a knowing leer. Sean raked his fingers through his hair, sighing in defeat.

“Let’s go to the Cuntebago.” Sean mumbled. “I guess I may as well go ahead and tell you.”

Now, sitting in the Cuntebago, Sean was explaining to Viggo what he had been up to. Viggo found the entire situation quite amusing.

“So, then,” Viggo said, “You fucked up, didn’t you? You thought this was just another romp in the playground.”

“Don’t make too much of it, Vig,” Sean scowled. “I just don’t want to hurt him unnecessarily is all.”

Viggo bent double with laughter. “Bean, you are so full of shit!” Viggo gasped. “This is too good, and it’s only going to get better.”

“No, it isn’t going to get better.” Sean scowled. “It’s not going to get better because I can’t, I just can’t…”

“Look, Bean, a lot of us have had a shot at our Scottish hobbit, so what makes this any different from any of the rest of us?” Viggo asked, his piercingly direct gaze boring right through Sean. “I have to admit I’m surprised as hell. I mean, come on, isn’t Billy a little on the toppish side for you?”

Sean said nothing; he only glared back at Viggo. Viggo continued to stare holes into Sean. The silence grew unbearable and Sean found he could hardly look Viggo in the eye. At last Sean turned away, mumbling “I said don’t make too much of this. It’s bad enough that Billy already has made too much of it. So let’s just drop it before our makeup girls get here, shall we?”

As if on cue there was a tap at the door. Relieved to be off the hook with Viggo, Sean practically leapt to open the door. Just as he was about to turn the knob Viggo said “Well, great! As long as you aren’t making too much of it, then maybe I’ll take a crack at our wee Billy, myself. Find out what’s gotten into you. He must be one tasty little morsel, because I’ll tell you right now, Sean…you look like death eating a cracker. You haven’t slept. Which means he must have had you up and at him all night, and since you say not to make too much of it then it should be cool with you if I get a little slice of that.”

This was utterly humiliating to Sean. He could tell from the way that Viggo was once more bent double with laughter that he had seen something in Sean’s demeanor that was more than a little contrary to Sean’s protests to not make too much of what had gone on between Billy and himself. Worse, Sean wasn’t able to say a word about it with the women stepping into the Cuntebago now. He could only glare at Viggo knowing he saw how rattled his words had made Sean feel. To rub salt in the wound, Viggo got finished up before Sean did. Apparently the shadows under his eyes were pretty bad. Makeup was taking a little longer today to take care of it, so Sean didn’t even get a chance to speak with Viggo before it was time to go to the pad where the helicopters sat waiting to fly everyone to location. Even better, Sean felt queasy. Had to be lack of sleep…didn’t it?

Yesterday had been Billy’s turn to have a perfectly miserable and fucked up day, and from the way events had progressed from last night to this morning, Sean was now a firm believer in karma. For Sean it felt like a thousand miles of bad road. It didn’t help that Billy’s face lit up when he stole a glance at Sean. Even worse, Viggo almost constantly leered at Billy quite openly. He didn’t even pretend to suppress the nature of his demeanor, practically drooling when once Billy dropped his notes and bent to pick them up. By the time the day was over Sean was nightmarishly exhausted, totally frustrated and an emotional wreck. His performances that day was so lousy PJ must have been about to suffer an aneurysm; the rest of the cast save Billy was ready to hire a hit man and put him out of everyone else’s misery.

But what really got to him was the fact that everyone left location before he did. PJ had Sean stay late to redo some scenes since they wouldn’t be returning to this particular location again. His imagination danced a devils dance in his brain, and all things considered Sean felt it was a major miracle PJ hadn’t had one of the crew simply push Sean off the side of the mountain. At this point, Sean was sure it would be a mercy if he had done so.

By the time Sean got to the Cuntebago it was very late. Billy had apparently gone there to meet up with Sean. When he had been told Sean had to work late he jotted a quick note and left it in Sean’s coat pocket. The note said that he was going to “hang out at Vig’s place” until Sean could meet him there. When Sean got to his car his day immediately got much, much worse. Another note. And this one did not read like the note of a happy camper. It was tucked under the wipers of Sean’s car, and with it was the photo Viggo had taken of Sean fixing Billy’s car.

The note read “Viggo dropped this on the way to the car park. He hasn’t said anything, but I know what you did, you son of a bitch. Fuck you.”

to be continued