“Someone? A Nobek? An Imdiko? Who are his parents?”
Her voice had gone cold. She wasn’t thrilled as so many mothers would be. Parent clans were forever trying to match their sons up with potential mates…but not Felac.
“He’s only a new friend, Mother.” He winked at the listening Vax, not wanting him to take offense. But why would he? He wasn’t interested in a relationship.
That was too bad. The night before had proven Vax was definitely someone Bacoj wanted to know better.
His mother, as usual, wasn’t ready to let the matter go so easily. “He must be more than a friend if he keeps you from checking in with me. How old is he? Is he in training camp? School? How did you meet him?”
“I met him while I was out picking pockets. That’s what he was doing too. We stole each other’s handhelds.”
“Bacoj, that’s not funny—”
Vax yanked the com from Bacoj. He spoke cheerfully. “Good morning, Matara Bacoj’s mother. I’m Imdiko Vax, son of Clan Batris. Allow me to apologize for keeping your son busy yesterday. He’s such a nice man. You must be so proud of him. By what name may I call you?”
Bacoj stared with his mouth hanging open as Vax settled back in bed, propping himself on the pillows and chatting away, as if Felac were his most favorite person in the empire.
“My mother—she’s Matara Udi—doesn’t work. My fathers own and operate a wilderness exploration club.” He paused to listen. “I’m head chef at Nepor Resort. Yes, it’s a rather important position. No, no intended clanmates. I’m concentrating on my career.”
Bacoj frantically signaled to Vax and whispered, “Don’t mention me being drafted.”
Vax nodded, his pleasant expression remaining in place. “He’s a smart man. Very impressive.” He ogled Bacoj’s crotch, a naughty grin telling the Dramok what specifically he found so impressive.
Bacoj shook a fist at him. Vax stuck his tongue out and kept talking.
“Was he a difficult child to influence, or was he easy to raise? I’m sure there were moments.” He wagged his finger at Bacoj, as if to chastise him for being a wayward son.
Bacoj motioned with his own finger, with far ruder intent. However, he couldn’t help but chuckle at his companion’s antics. Felac wasn’t easy to charm, but so far, Vax had said all the right things.
The Imdiko continued to answer a seemingly nonstop battery of questions with poise and gentle humor. As he did so, Bacoj eyed the naked body spread on the mat. It was a shame to not do something with it. He crept up the mat, kissing his way up Vax’s inner thigh.
“I’ve never been on the seagoing cruises. They do supposedly have excellent chefs. What was your favorite dish?” Vax swatted at him without letting his tone betray how Bacoj teased. His cocks were awake and getting perkier, however. Bacoj ignored the battery and kept mouthing toward them.
He was about to enjoy a mouthful of Imdiko when another com signal went off, this time from the unit on Vax’s bedside table. Still talking to Felac, Vax checked the frequency. His face went pale, and his smile faded.
“Vax?” Bacoj whispered.
It’s him, the Imdiko mouthed.
The stalker, Nobek Karil? It was Bacoj’s turn to grab someone else’s com. Ignoring Vax’s desperate motions that insisted he hand it back, he clicked it on while rolling off the sleeping mat. He walked into the hall.
“Hello, Nobek Karil,” he snarled.
“Who—who’s this?” a gravelly voice stuttered.
“The big, nasty fucker ready to turn you inside out for bothering Vax, that’s who.” Bacoj tried to sound Nobek scary, doing a fair imitation of his father Deehur.
“Listen, shithead—” Karil began.
“You listen, you drugged-out waste of flesh. You stay away from Vax. It’s not his fault your dumbass Imdiko was so trashed that he forced Vax to defend himself. It’s not his fault you weren’t enough of a Nobek to clean your act up and insist Huk do the same. Now take your pathetic attempt at honor, shine it up nice and bright, and shove it up your junkie ass. You come anywhere near Vax again, and I promise there won’t be enough of you left for your Dramok to cremate. Got it?”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He clicked the frequency off. While he had access to Vax’s com programs, he also blocked Karil’s signal so the Nobek couldn’t harass him again.
Feeling pleased with himself, he turned back toward the sleeping room. Vax was there in the doorway, watching him with Bacoj’s com unit powered off in his hand. Apparently, the conversation with Felac had ended.
“Damn,” Vax breathed.
Bacoj fixed him with a stern glare. “‘Damn’ is right. How many times has he commed to threaten you?”
Vax fidgeted, his gaze darting away. “He hasn’t exactly threatened me. Nothing I could report to law enforcement anyway. He’s just said nasty things, such as calling me a traitor to my family, a murderer…”
Vax’s eyes abruptly filled with tears. Regret filled Bacoj to have gotten angry with him. How much guilt did Vax carry for his cousin’s death? It had to be substantial.
Bacoj gathered him in his arms and held him close, kissing his wet cheeks. He comforted him with gentle caresses, whispered that Vax was a good man, reassured the Imdiko he couldn’t have done any different but defend himself against Huk’s attack. Vax clung to him, hanging on his every word like a drowning man with a life preserver.
Bacoj carried him back to the sleeping mat. The next hour was spent doing what was in his power to make Vax feel better. That included bringing him to climax twice.
It must have worked, because Vax lay in his arms afterward, radiating contentment. “Good thing it’s my day off from Nepor,” he sighed. “You’ve worn me out.”
“Is that a complaint?” Bacoj chuckled.
“Hell no. By the way, we’re having dinner with your parent clan next week. First of the month, right? When you usually visit them?”
Bacoj groaned. “I’m sorry my mother roped you into that. She doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Actually, I invited myself when she asked me to remind you.”
“You did?” Bacoj stared at him in surprise.
Vax grinned. “Do you want breakfast? I’m starved.” He jumped up, grabbed a robe from the closet, and left the room.
Bacoj shook his head. Dinner with his parents next week? But Vax had claimed he wouldn’t get serious with anyone. What was he up to?
* * * *
After a few days, Vax had to admit he was having the time of his life with Bacoj. The week that flashed by was a revelation. He couldn’t get enough of the Dramok’s company. He rushed home from his jobs as quickly as possible, ready to enjoy his new friend, whom he’d invited to stay each night. It was torture leaving his apartment in the morning. Just as much as he hated to leave Bacoj, he hated letting the Dramok go to his job as a mechanic and test pilot for a shuttle design company.
He was terribly infatuated, a state he’d sworn he wouldn’t allow to happen. Yet Bacoj was wonderful in so many ways. At the top of the list was how smart and caring the young Dramok was. He understood Vax’s commitment to career, being hopeful for his own future as an engineer. The fact he’d told Karil to keep his distance wasn’t lost on Vax either, especially since Karil hadn’t bothered him since that com.
The sex was spectacular. To his surprise, Vax discovered he didn’t mind when his lover caught onto his schemes to direct their encounters. Bacoj’s punishments…and all the other things he did…more than made up for Vax failing to be in control.
Only one thing marred the instant companionship that had sprung up so hot and heavy. Bacoj’s coming deployment hung over their heads, a constant reminder of how short this delightful interval was fated to be. Bacoj’s impending departure depressed Vax more than he’d anticipated. What should have been a one-night stand had progressed into an emotionally fraught situation. It excited and upset Vax in equal measures. He’d found an amazing Dramok, but he was in danger of losing him too.
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This wasn’t supposed to happen, he thought more and more often.
The eve of Bacoj’s filing to join the military had been tough. He’d put in his notice at work that afternoon. His supervisor had immediately coaxed him into taking his remaining vacation leave. “‘Live a little before you go,’” Bacoj quoted the fatherly Dramok as saying. “‘Spend the next few weeks with family and friends.’ He made it sound as if I had a terminal illness.” Bacoj’s expression suggested he agreed with that viewpoint.
Vax hated to see his lover so despondent. “Let me go with you when you report in tomorrow. I have the day off from both jobs. We’ll do something fun afterward, before dinner with your parents.”
That was how Vax ended up stepping out of Bacoj’s shuttle in a stark parking bay early the next morning. Both paused to stare through the large vessel entrance to the green sea beyond the complex. The military reporting station was located in Kalquor’s capital city, an hour’s flight from their homes. They’d gone through no fewer than three checkpoints to land in the massive government facility housed within a cliff.
Though he’d visited the area before, Vax found the sight of water extending to the horizon astounding. “Imagine living here and waking up to that sight every day.”
“You should open your restaurant here. Plenty of customers, since it’s the seat of our government. Lots of tourism besides. You’d almost have to go out of your way to fail as a restauranteur in a city this size.” Bacoj drew a deep breath.
Vax did too, inhaling the delicious scent of ocean and the nearby beach. “Tempting. I bet it costs a ton to run a business and live here though. The biggest names in cooking on Kalquor are in the capital.”
“You’ll join them. You’re an amazing chef.”
Vax shrugged off the compliment and stared at the ocean. “Look at all that open space. Sort of overwhelming when you’re used to living underground.”
“You should get outdoors more. It’s not good for you to be cooped up.”
“Working that second job has its drawbacks.” Vax gazed at the shore with yearning, then thought of something else. “We’ve become somewhat immersed in our indoor activities lately too.”
Bacoj smirked at his reference to their frequent bouts of sex. Unfortunately, they couldn’t spend much time gawking at their surroundings or chitchatting. When the Dramok turned resolutely from the stunning view, Vax did too.
They wove through the parked shuttles, finally coming into view of the reception area. Bacoj stopped and groaned at the line of Dramoks waiting to be checked in. Vax paused too, noting the waiting men were efficiently directed to their various destinations within the reporting station. The queue was lengthy, but it moved quickly as formsuited soldiers instructed them. Many of the recruits appeared as unenthusiastic as Bacoj. They were obviously draftees and not volunteer recruits, Vax decided.
His unhappy friend cast a longing gaze in the direction of his shuttle, no doubt wishing he could jump in it and leave. “I suppose I might as well get this over with.”
“I’ll hang out with you for as far as they let me.”
Bacoj found a smile that held little joy. “Thanks, Vax. I know I’m being dramatic about this, but it feels as if I’m walking to my execution.”
“It’s not what you planned on, but who knows? Maybe it’s the path to something better than you could imagine.”
“Better than engineering school? I doubt it. Let’s not forget I’m leaving behind an incredible Imdiko only days after I made his acquaintance.”
Vax’s heart quickened. “Hey, we should have a couple of weeks or more before they send you off for training. Right?”
Bacoj tried to smile again. He failed.
They got in the line that diminished as fast as men joined it. Within less than a minute, a Nobek soldier, his sleeveless formsuit showing off scarred and muscled biceps, approached with a handheld at the ready.
“Name?”
“Dramok Bacoj, son of Clan Rilb.” Bacoj’s tone was resigned but firm.
“Territorial district?”
“Western.”
The soldier tapped his handheld. “Floor Twenty-eight, Section BVJ. Take the third in-house transport over there.” He motioned toward the elevators and turned to Vax.
“I’m just here to wish him luck.” Vax beamed at the Nobek cheerfully.
The soldier’s lips quirked, as if he held back an answering grin. “This is as far as non-recruits can go…Imdiko, correct? Unless you’re eager to sign up for the glory of serving our empire?”
“Can I be in charge?”
The Nobek relaxed the stern demeanor, chuckling at Vax’s cheekiness. He waved them off as he headed toward the next Dramok recruit.
The banter had eased some of Bacoj’s angst. He chuckled at Vax’s antics. “You can wait for me in my shuttle. Don’t let that guy talk you into signing up for war. Or into running off with him and leaving me behind.”
“His scars aren’t that impressive.” Vax winked. “I’ll see you when you’re done.”
Bacoj trudged off to the transport, joining a dozen others. Vax watched him and waved as the doors closed.
He moved out of the way of others lining up. He took a few steps toward the shuttle, then stopped. He considered the hangdog draftees and the soldiers sending them to their fates.
By all accounts, Kalquor was barely holding its own in the war. The empire had the superior military and technology, but it was badly strained against the sheer numbers of its enemy.
The Nobek soldier he’d joked with walked by, intent on more new arrivals. Vax put on his best smile once more and approached him. “Excuse me?”
“Yes?”
“You wouldn’t happen to know when the military will start calling in my breed, would you?”
Chapter Four
Two hours after stepping into the in-house transport as a civilian, Bacoj leaned against his shuttle, staring at the ocean outside the landing and docking bay, waiting for Vax. He was worried and trying not to be. The message Vax had left on his com, though tersely worded, wasn’t exactly anxiety-provoking: Something came up. Be right back. After all, how far could Vax have gone in the mammoth cliff? Especially with soldiers limiting access to the facility.
Bacoj hoped it was nothing big. After the poking and prodding of the physical exam and signing dozens of forms, then meeting his squad and commander for his assignment—activities light years from his dreams of engineering school—he was more than ready to leave.
At least training wasn’t for another month. Bacoj was hoping for a lot of pity fucks from Vax before he shipped out.
I wish it could be more than that. But who knows how long the war will last or when I can come home? By then, Vax would have re-affirmed his decision of career before commitment. Or he might even meet another Dramok.
Bacoj’s stomach clenched. He adored Vax. He could see himself happy for years, if not forever, with the Imdiko.
He stared out at the ocean, thinking his regrets were as vast as that expanse. He had to be the unluckiest man alive.
Soft footsteps grabbed his attention. He turned to spot Vax heading toward him, coming from the direction of the in-house transports. His bright grin eased Bacoj’s angst despite himself. That smile could light up the world, he thought.
“Where did you run off to?” Bacoj pushed off the shuttle to greet him.
“I signed up for the war.”
Bacoj snorted at the joke. “Did they put you in charge, like you wanted?”
“Only of my department.” Vax held up his handheld to show Bacoj a form on its holoscreen.
A military assignment form. The print swam before Bacoj’s gaze the instant he recognized it. Vax’s name was on it as a recruit.
He blinked and studied Vax. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“It would be funny if I were. But forging a government document is a felony. As of now, I’m in the fleet, like you.”
Bacoj tried to wrap his brain around what h
ad happened. He couldn’t. “Why?”
“I asked some questions and found out Imdikos in my age group are scheduled to be called up next month. It was going to happen whether I had good reasons to sign up or not.” Vax tucked his handheld in his belt pouch. “What should we do for lunch? I’m starved.”
“But—your jobs. Your career. What about the restaurant you wanted to open?” Bacoj was in disbelief.
“See, that was the deciding factor. It turns out that if I join up before being drafted, I’ll receive a hefty signing bonus.” Vax’s grin, already impossibly large, grew.
“The military can’t possibly pay as much as your resort position.”
“It doesn’t, but did I mention the generous signing bonus? It makes up for the shortfall. If the war is won within a year, I’ll be six months ahead on my own restaurant’s fund.”
“That’s an incredible incentive.” It was starting to make sense. However, Bacoj was still rattled by Vax’s gamble. “Did you stop to think what they might be having you do? Or where you’ll be assigned?”
“That’s the other reason I went for it. Say hello to your carrier’s head cook. Wherever you end up, I follow.”
Bacoj’s jaw dropped. “We’re shipping out together? How did you finagle that?”
“Early signup for an Imdiko means choice of duty, as long as it’s within reason. Plus, I told the recruiter you’re my intended Dramok.”
My intended Dramok. The words rang in Bacoj’s skull. He couldn’t breathe for several seconds.
At last he managed to croak, “Am I?”
Vax shrugged, but his expression wasn’t casual. He studied Bacoj’s face, as if looking for the answer there. “It’s too early to tell, don’t you think? We’ll be able to figure it out now that we have the chance to know each other better.”
Bacoj struggled for something to say. In the chaos churning his brain, he could only manage, “I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m—I hope I can make it worth your while. Outside of the big bonus, I mean.”
Clan and Commit (Clan Beginnings Book 7) Page 4