Mirror Image

The long, slow thrusts inexorably pushed Noel toward the edge as his lover's thick shaft moved within him. It brushed against his sweet spot only to pull back and thrust in deeper still. When Celestin's hand wrapped around his leaking arousal trapped between them, Noel moaned deeply, and thrust up into the firm grip and down to impale himself on his lover's shaft. Although their movements remained slow and steady, his heart was racing, and he felt as if they were one, single entity.

All too soon, Celestin felt his imminent climax. He pulled away from their kiss to stare down into his lover's eyes. His thrusts became deeper and erratic. He pumped the organ in his hand and he licked at his boy's neck as he continued to move his hips.

"Come with me," he whispered raggedly. "Let go and come with me."

Noel's body moved instinctively as their pace increased. He felt his release building within him, until he finally lost control. His release spilled hot and wet between them and his muscles gripped tight around his lover's hard flesh. A feeling of warmth, love and contentment seemed to settle over him as his channel clenched, coaxing his lover to join him in his bliss.

The sensation of his lover's muscles clamping around him and the sound of his boy's soft cry pushed Celestin over the edge. With one final thrust, he arched his back and buried himself deep. He came with a low moan, his seed pulsing inside the tight passage that surrounded him while his hand continued to coax out the last drops of his lover's release. Trembling from head to toe in the wake of his release, he closed his eyes and smiled into his lover's neck.

Noel felt his lover spill deep within him and moaned. He wished there was no latex barrier between them. As Celestin lowered his body to rest against him, he wrapped his arms around his lover.

"Perfect," Celestin murmured. "Just perfect."

Noel murmured wordlessly as Celestin eased from his body and disposed of the condom. He gave a soft cry of pleasure as the older man's tongue cleansed his body. He snuggled happily into the strong arms as they held him tightly to his lover, a sigh of contentment reaching his ears before Celestin kissed him tenderly.

"You were perfect."

Noel concurred as he snuggled into the broader frame. He gave a soundless sigh. Time was running out quickly. Leon was getting his casts removed and would be cleared to return to work very soon. Surely Celestin will understand what I've done and why, he thought.

Won't he?

****

Opening the bedroom door carefully, Leon peeked in on his brother. Noel had come home with a migraine and Leon had fussed until the younger twin had settled into sleep. Leon knew something was troubling his brother and it was unusual for Noel not to tell him. Assured that his brother would sleep for several hours, Leon quietly shut the door.

It was going to be hard for him to take Noel's place at Celestin's and Leon was giving hard consideration to telling the younger man that they should go together to speak to the designer and admit what they had done. Noel's works were so well received it seemed unfair to Leon that he should just step in and bask in his brother's hard-earned glory.

He pounced on the phone as it began to ring.

"Is that Leon Dancer?"

"Yes." The female voice on the line was almost a purr and Leon could not think of anyone he knew, or that Noel knew, with such a distinctive voice.

"My name is Madeleine, I'm sure you've heard of me?"

"Of course," Leon felt his heartbeat increase. Madeleine. The owner of the Fashion House in which he would have preferred to worked.

"I've been hearing great things about you. I'd like to meet you for coffee and talk. I know a good coffee shop and can be there in about forty-five minutes. I'd be delighted if you would join me."

Leon knew the shop and could get there in about the same length of time. He knew Noel would sleep solidly for the next few hours. He could leave a note to say he would be back soon and he would have his cell phone if Noel really needed him. He had agreed and was heading to his bedroom to change almost before he knew what he had done.

Madeleine.

Maybe there was a way for both his brother and him to be happy.

****

Paytah stared at the photographs he had developed. It made no sense. If he did not hold the proof in his hands he would never have believed it. An anonymous tip-off, which had his hackles rise, had him sitting and waiting in his car outside a coffee shop, where he had watched Leon meet and flirt with Madeleine. More than that, the flirting had become touching and then kissing. The last pictures showed a dishevelled Leon leaving Madeleine's house and a long, lingering kiss was also caught on film.

He frowned. It had clearly been a set-up, designed so he could get the pictures. If Leon was being unfaithful to Celestin, then the older man deserved to know, but it seemed to go against everything that Paytah knew of the younger man. He had seen the love in Leon's eyes. He was certain Leon loved Celestin. The boy had virtually walked on air since he and Celestin had become lovers, not that the younger man would know that Celestin had told Paytah of his happiness.

He glared angrily at the pictures. Something was not right and niggled just the way it had when Leon had come to work for them.

If only he could figure out just what it was.

****

Noel hurried to Celestin's office. Something was wrong; his lover's voice had been cold and hard when summoning him. Standing outside the door, Noel used his inhaler to try and help calm himself before tapping on the door and stepping inside at the curt order.

As he entered the room, his eyes took in Darren sitting, smirking smugly. He knew the incredibly thin, immaculately coiffeured and made-up female alongside him was Madeleine. He was aware of Paytah off to the side, but his main attention was on Celestin. The older man's face was tight with pent-up emotion and Noel had no idea what was wrong.

"You will pack your things and leave immediately."

Celestin's menacing growl at Noel had the younger man fall back a step. What have I done?

"Celestin...I don't understand..." he stuttered.

"Oh please, Leon," Madeleine drawled. "There's no need to prolong this. Leave Celestin and come and work for me. Like we discussed yesterday."

"I've never met you before," Noel said, confusion warring with hurt.

"These pictures tell a different story," Celestin flung a couple in the younger man's direction. To have lost Armand to Madeline had been painful. However at that moment, Celestin felt as if his heart had been crushed beyond its ability to ever beat again.

Noel stared at the pictures. They showed him, no, Leon, kissing Madeleine. How do I explain this?

"Celestin, please, you have to believe me," he said, his voice cracking with the tears he could not hold back. "It wasn't me. I wouldn't do this to you. I promise."

His words seemed to fall on deaf ears. His world fell apart, his heart shattering into pieces as the older man stormed into his inner office. Noel felt the tears fall but was helpless to stop them.

Paytah stared at Leon's reaction and back at the pictures in his own hand.

Madeleine had shown up with Darren who also had a set of pictures showing Leon and Madeleine. The woman had complacently told Celestin that Leon had approached her about working for her and then accepted an offer to go back to her home. She wanted Leon releasing from his contract so he could take up a place she had offered.

It was obvious to Paytah that she had orchestrated the whole thing. However, Leon's reactions confused him. Unless the younger man was a consummate actor, he had shown no recognition of Madeleine for someone he had apparently slept with less than a day previously. He looked the picture of desolation and misery.

Then he saw it.

"Yes!" he muttered under his breath. "Got you, you bitch," he added sub vocally. He moved to the crying young man who stared forlornly at the door through which Celestin had gone. "Go into my office; I will be with you in a minute. Go nowhere else. Understand?"

Nodding, Noel mutely obeyed Paytah's order. He was too distraught to even be able to think straight.

"If you and Darren would wait here, Madeleine, I will get everything sorted," Paytah said, giving a false smile to the woman who looked as if she was enjoying every minute of the hurt she had caused.

"Just cancel Leon's contract, Paytah," Madeleine said, waving her hand carelessly around. "I've no idea what he hopes to gain from the theatrics, but the camera doesn't lie. I'm just surprised you hadn't shown Celestin the pictures you took. Darren has a clear shot of you taking a picture of Leon and me. Perhaps he's slept with you, too?"

"My life is my own affair, Madeleine," Paytah retorted, uncaring of the scowl that darkened the older woman's face.

He went straight into Celestin's inner office, not even bothering to knock. The sight of his friend, tears tracking silently down his cheeks, was almost enough to make him cry, too.

"I think I have the answer and your boy did not betray you, Celestin," he said without preamble. He watched his friend shake his head, but a slight stirring of hope lit eyes heavy with grief.

"Those pictures..." Celestin began.

"Please, my friend," Paytah said. "Give me a little time. He's worth it; your love is worth it."

"If you can," Celestin husked. "I do love him, even now."

"Stay here. I'll come for you. Madeleine is outside. I'm sure she will wait." He gave Celestin a hard hug. "I'll be as quick as I can."

****

Celestin looked up hopefully as Paytah came back into the room.

"Let's go, Celestin," he said, giving his friend a grim smile. "When we're out there, my friend, I want you to use these," he added pointing to his own dark eyes.

Puzzled, but trusting Paytah, Celestin followed him out. He stared at Leon who stood facing Madeleine. His eyes raked over the achingly familiar visage as Leon turned to face him and he smothered a gasp. This was not Leon. At least, it was not his Leon. One winged eyebrow looked to have been bisected by a scar at some time; his lover's were beautifully symmetrical. The nose had a small bump, likely to have been the result of a break or fracture; his Leon's nose was perfectly straight. The lips were not as full and, most telling of all, the small beauty mark was on the wrong side.

"I'm sorry for what's happened, Celestin," Leon said. "I accept full responsibility for everything."

Celestin nodded. Even the voice held a different quality. However it was clear that Madeleine noticed no such anomalies.

"We're just wasting time," Madeleine said, her voice affecting a bored tone. "Get sacked or resign and let's get out of here."

"If Celestin wants me to resign, I will," Leon said. "Let me ask you something, Madeleine; was it my talent that you really coveted or the relationship with Celestin?"

"I get hundreds of pretty, young men clamouring to be part of my Empire. I choose very carefully. You are pretty enough and you have talent. But, yes, the icing on the cake was to be told that you were...intimate with Celestin. But why worry? You showed no concern for him when we talked, or when we were in bed together."

"I did sleep with her, Celestin," Leon said, giving a small smile as the older man nodded. "I can have my resignation on your desk in minutes."

"No, that won't be necessary," Celestin said.

"Don't tell me that even after he slept with me, you would keep him," Madeleine laughed, a cold, brittle sound. "Given Paytah didn't show you his photographs, it seems to me that Leon may have not stopped at just the two of us. Perhaps he's a real slut."

"Don't call him that!" Two voices rang out simultaneously as both Celestin and Leon glowered angrily at Madeleine.

"Come on in, Noel," Paytah murmured from the doorway he had silently moved to stand beside.

"Noel." Celestin breathed the name as his eyes drank in the sight of his lover. His lover. Even as the younger man took a few hesitant steps inside, Celestin was already powering towards him.

"What the f...?"

The rest of the angry tirade from Madeleine fell on deaf ears as Celestin wrapped himself around his lover, peppering the beautiful face with kisses; the matching brows, the straight nose, the small mark on the left of the alluring lips. Celestin interspersed his kisses with apologies, begging his lover's forgiveness. He took comfort from the arms that held him.

"Just what sort of a joke is this?" Madeleine demanded as she rose to her feet. She glowered at Paytah, Darren and the kissing couple.

"No joke, Madeleine," Paytah smirked. "You did indeed take Leon Dancer to bed. However, it was his brother Noel that had been working here."

"Being my normal, selfish self, I went skiing even though I had this placement. Couldn't start with a fractured ankle and dislocated wrist so Noel took my place. I didn't know about his relationship with Celestin. Because he went to bed ill last night, and was gone before me this morning, he didn't know about you and me, Madeleine. I can't believe how easily I was taken in. I truly liked and admired you, but all you wanted from me, really, was to hurt Celestin."

"That's the difference between us and why I always outdo him," Madeleine hissed. "I do what it takes to get what I want and to be successful."

"Good thing you don't rely on your skills in bed," Leon snapped, still smarting from his brother being labelled a slut. He gasped as a strong arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him aside as a glass whizzed past his face with millimetres to spare.

"Get out, Madeleine," Celestin said angrily. "This time you've lost. I've learned two things today; to listen to both sides before making up my mind and that I would not have given up on Leon, I mean Noel. He was worth fighting for."

"Let's go," Madeleine snapped at Darren who jumped to trail in her wake, a fearful look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mon Petit," Celestin said as the door slammed closed. "I should have listened to you."

"Leon and I should never have tried to deceive you," Noel murmured, leaning into the strong body.

"Paytah, take charge for the rest of the day. Get a contract sorted for both Noel and Leon. I think their combined talents will be phenomenal. Noel and I need some time alone."

As his brother and Celestin left, Leon turned to Paytah. For the first time since childhood, he felt a blush colour his cheeks. Paytah's eyes held appreciation and desire.

"I've only ever dated girls," Leon blurted, caught off-guard by the blatant appreciation in Paytah's dark eyes. He felt the colour drain from his cheeks as the look instantly vanished. "Up to now," he added hurriedly. The wolfish smile he got from the older man made his stomach quiver.

"Then perhaps you need your horizons expanded?" came a low, husky purr. "I'm willing to help."

"Oh yeah," Leon rasped as he was caught in a tight embrace. The feel of hard muscles under his fingers was an unexpected turn on. He grinned back at Paytah.

****

"Celestin, I'm not looking for just a few nights in your bed," Noel said as they sat on the older man's plush settee. "I want more. I want a future with you. If I can't...if you don't want that..."

"Noel, I do want a future with you. I think I always have. I want you in my life, for us to be together, forever," Celestin whispered. "I love you and forever sounds just about perfect to me." Celestin stopped and leaned forward, gently kissing Noel's soft lips. "I want to make love to you Noel, as I should have been doing all along. I have never made love without protection and I get regularly tested. I'm clean and I know I was your first."

"I trust you, Celestin," Noel smiled tremulously.

At that, Celestin lent forward and claimed Noel's mouth. The kiss was gentle at first, the older man tasting every inch of his lovers' soft lips before he slowly deepened the kiss. He growled his approval as Noel parted his lips and allowed Celestin inside and their tongues began to dance sensuously together.

Celestin ran his hands over the lithe body, kissing his way down Noel's neck, stopping only to remove the shirt that impeded his access to his boy's chest. He trailed his hands to the flat stomach and the button on the waistband of his mate's jeans. He pushed it through the hole, his eyes never leaving his lover's. He slowly unzipped them and eased his hand into the boxers beneath. He teased the head of Noel's erection with his thumb, before wrapping his fingers around it. As his lover arched his back, moaning softly, Celestin stroked the rapidly hardening shaft and claimed Noel's lips again. He felt the younger man pull at his shirt as his hand played his lover like a maestro.

Needing the skin-to-skin contact as much as his young lover, Celestin quickly undressed, throwing his clothes onto the floor. He smiled as Noel copied his actions. Naked, they moved as one towards the bedroom. Once inside, they settled on the bed and Celestin possessed Noel's willing mouth, his tongue delving deeply. Slowly, tenderly, he kissed, licked and nipped his way down the beautiful body, mapping it with tongue, teeth and hands. He paused at already erect nipples and licked them, teasing them with his tongue and suckling them. He flicked his tongue in and out of Noel's navel and kissed the warm, soft skin on either side of the weeping erection. He lapped the addictive pre-come, smiling as Noel arched his back as if trying to urge Celestin to take him into his mouth.

Finally Celestin took mercy on the writhing, whimpering young man and slowly sucked the throbbing organ into his mouth. He hollowed his cheeks as he sucked, grazing his teeth against over sensitised skin, pressing his tongue just behind the head. He repeated the action again and again until Noel cried out his lover's name and came hard, his semen pulsing down the older man's throat. Celestin pulled his mouth from the softened shaft and kissed his lover tenderly.

Celestin peppered tiny kisses over the beautiful face in front of him and reached over to the nightstand, retrieving lube from the drawer. He kissed Noel's eyes, cheeks, the small birth mark and finally his mouth. Deepening the kiss, he sucked on his lover's tongue, relishing the sounds of pleasure from his boy.

"I love you, Noel, always," he vowed and kissed the willing mouth again.

As the older man eased away from his body, Noel mourned the loss of Celestin's weight. He watched as his lover opened the lube and coated his fingers. Not breaking eye-contact, Noel spread his legs wider, allowing his mate access to his most intimate entrance.

Smiling tenderly at his beautiful boy, Celestin circled the tightly-furled aperture. He carefully eased a single digit into the clinging heat, pushing back and forth. He curled the finger and brushed lightly over the gland inside the tight passage. He withdrew the one and slid in two, then finally three, scissoring his fingers to stretch his lover. He kept brushing over Noel's sweet spot, making the younger man jerk his hips and arch his back. Celestin smiled wider as his lover's shaft began to harden quickly, achieving a full erection once more.

"Patience, my love," he whispered hoarsely as Noel whimpered at the loss of fingers inside him. Celestin quickly coated his throbbing shaft and shifted his stance. Placing his young lover's legs on his shoulders, Celestin positioned the tip of his engorged flesh against the glistening entrance to Noel's body. Edging forward, he pushed against resilient muscle until he felt it give, granting him access to the haven of Noel's body.

He eased into the tight sheath, bestowing kisses on Noel's face, until he was completely buried in a silken heat like no other before. Celestin groaned openly, fighting to retain his control. The feel of his naked flesh sliding into Noel's body was incredibly. He had almost come from that first, slow thrust, the sensation had been so much better, so much more than he could have imagined. He gazed adoringly into the verdant eyes of the man he loved. He ran his thumb over kiss-swollen lips and then claimed them in a tender kiss.