Excerpt from "A Lesson in Discord"

Calyx wove his way through the crowded dance floor. The music thrummed through him as he stalked, the throbbing bass and flashing lights echoing the excited beating of his heart. Bodies danced in a sensual frenzy around him, the output from the crowd threatening to swallow him whole. It made his cock hard as iron and his body positively itch to move.

However, there was a dark shadow that also stalked among the revelers, watching him. If he tossed the mission aside to dance, he just knew that Black would swoop out from hiding and slice off Calyx’s favorite body part. Jake was there too, both of them his backup. Outside, Haney was driving the van, while Parker rode in the back listening for Calyx on the mic. Bee tracked the blond using the bug they had planted on him.

"Zebra?" Calyx purred softly into the mic.

Over the earpiece, Parker sighed. "Yes, Leopard?"

"What's black and white and red all over?" he asked, trying to mask his glee. If he couldn't dance, he at least deserved some kind of fun.

"I don't know," Parker said, his voice sounding tired. "Does the answer involve a zebra, maybe?"

Calyx had been taking great delight in harassing Parker about his field name, much to everyone's amusement.

"Focus," Black's crisp voice came over the earpieces. It was enough to put an end to the discussion, his message clear. Taunting Parker was well and good, but never during a mission.

If Calyx was honest, he didn't want to do this. It wasn't that he'd developed some crazy case of shyness, nor was it that he didn't have a choice, as Black seemed willing to berate himself over. It just felt like he was turning his back on a promise he had made to himself. A part of him was strangely disappointed.

Then the crowd parted and Calyx's sight fell on his quarry, looking all scrumptious and dark against the bar. His conscience went blessedly silent since the shady, watchful demeanor made for delicious eye candy, or maybe Calyx had just become a sucker for dark and brooding. He danced over to Anubis, watching the dealer's amber eyes light up.

"Well, well," the man purred. "Calyx Starr. How are you, precious?"

Calyx twirled and leaned against the bar, pressing close to Anubis. "Thirsty," he said cheerfully. "Lucky for you, I'm willing to let you buy me a drink."

Anubis chuckled and flagged down a bartender. "If I was surprised to see you in the club before, I’m nigh shocked that I have the pleasure of a second visit. What have I done that warrants your delectable presence twice in one week?"

Calyx raised an eyebrow. "I can't just say hello?" he asked. He picked up the shot glass filled with golden liquor and tossed it back. He sighed blissfully, relishing the burn of the alcohol. Sometimes, it was good to be him.

"Your version of hello isn't usually so hands-off, precious." Anubis was leaning forward, his mouth near Calyx's ear so that he could be heard above the loud music. It didn't hurt that it pushed him even closer to the blond, his body pressed against a lean side and his black hair brushing against one pale cheek. The heat of his fellow psypath made Calyx want to look around for his own dark lover to see if Black was jealous, but he knew the lieutenant was too wrapped up in the job to give it much thought. Sometimes, being him wasn’t so fun after all.

Calyx purred, reaching over to trail fingers over a bare strip of the other man's stomach. "You've gotta give me a good reason to be that happy, sweetheart," he murmured.

Anubis stroked his hand over Calyx's waist before he pulled out a small packet. The strip was dotted with what looked like little pink buttons. Bliss always looked so innocent.

Calyx's eyes glittered and he practically drooled. "Pretty candy," he purred, "but I was thinking of something else." Oh, how it hurt him to say that.

One inky eyebrow raised in surprise. "Are you sure, precious? It wouldn't be nice of me to leave you wanting."

Calyx forced himself to get a grip. He did not need the Bliss. He could have some later. He was not going to piss off his rather dangerous boyfriend and risk not getting laid after this. His fingers continued to dance over the sensitive skin of the other man’s stomach. "I was looking for more in the way of pillow talk, actually."

Anubis licked his lips, pressing his hips forward into Calyx at the less than subtle invitation. “My favorite kind of talk,” he murmured. "What about?"

Calyx didn’t like how many questions Anubis was asking. "We could hit the pillow first and work our way up to the talking as it comes to us."

Golden eyes peered curiously at him. "Well, now, precious. Seems to me all you want to do is pump me for information."

One of Calyx’s hands skillfully rubbed the bulge between Anubis’ legs, aiming to distract. “As long as I let you pump me in return, do you care?”

Silence answered his comment. Anubis stood still, his nose buried in Calyx’s hair as he smelled the long locks. “You have an insatiable curiosity for things that are not your business, Calyx Starr,” he commented mildly.

Calyx scowled. He had remembered Anubis as perhaps the most respectful telepath in Juxtapose City. One had to either seriously piss him off or have an amateur's ability to shield for him to pry. He was mediocre in the way of power, but no one purposefully pissed off a telepath, especially one of the few that wouldn't rape minds.

That Anubis had ‘read’ him put Calyx on edge. "Annoyingly intuitive of you, sweetheart."

"Well, one of us has to get to the point." Anubis knocked back his drink. "Shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, he took Calyx's hand and led him through the crowd toward the doors.

Calyx followed, unease filling him. Black would shoot him if he botched the mission, but he suddenly didn't want to be alone with the soft-spoken telepath. He resisted looking through the crowd for Black for reassurance.

They finally broke through the reveling dancers and were soon out of the club. Anubis started to lead him toward an alley before Calyx pulled up short.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm not looking for something quite so passé. Maybe we should go someplace with a pillow for the pillow talk?" Truth was, the team would have a hard time getting to him in a timely manner if he went into the alley.

Anubis smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry. Nothing as cliché as fucking in the alley." He pulled Calyx after him. "You're wrong, you know."

Calyx kept up, refusing to show how nervous he was. "About?"

"About the new Bliss."

His ears perking, he strolled beside Anubis so that Bee could record what was being said. He prayed that the telepath didn’t pick anything out of his head about the police team following them. "How so?"

Anubis smiled serenely. "It's not a drug. This thing you’re looking for... it can be the most incredible thing, Calyx. It's a gift."

"Do you mean that figuratively or literally? Because, if the rumors are true, it doesn't sound like much of a gift."

They rounded a corner into another alley. There was nothing here but the usual trash and cats picking their way through it. A bundle of rags shifted, but it turned out to be a homeless person. Calyx could sense nothing from the dirty man, which meant he had probably found some Bliss somewhere. Calyx hadn't the time to really ponder it before Anubis grabbed his arms and spun him, slamming his back into the wall.

Calyx gasped in surprise at the pain. "I thought we weren't going to be cliché," he drawled, trying to calm the rapid hammering of his heart.

Anubis sighed. He raised his head to the sky, a look of ecstasy on his face. "You should meet her, Calyx. She's the most amazing thing."

"Are you tripping out on something, sweetheart?" he asked, trying to move away. "If not, you'd better have a good reason to be bruising my arms. Who’s ‘her’?" It was unnerving how rough the gentle dealer was acting. It set off every alarm Calyx possessed.

"It's a high that never ends, bliss like you've never known." Anubis leaned into him, stroking his long, pale hair. "You just have to give in to it," he whispered. "I did. I would kill for it, die for it. It’s that amazing."

Calyx was starting to get seriously freaked out by this. Besides Bee, Anubis was the most soft-spoken person he knew. Having the golden-eyed telepath act like a religious zealot was just a little too creepy. "Let go, Anubis," he said, struggling. Where was his backup?

"I'm sorry, Calyx. You would have loved her. Eris is like nothing you've seen, but I can't take you to her."

The tone was starting to get dangerous. Calyx didn't have a weapon, either. "Zebra..." he breathed.

Parker's reply was drowned out by Anubis'. "You were gone from the clubs for so long. When you finally showed up, one of Lord's men got assassinated in the very same club." The dark-haired telepath pulled a gun. "Bad for business, I'm afraid." Anubis stepped back and aimed the muzzle at Calyx.

The shot was a whisper, quieter than he expected.