Tap-Dancing the Minefields

by Lyn Gala

  “Besides, you should be complimented,” Tank lied as he stretched to one side to prevent a cramp that threatened his right hip. He wolf whistled as Lev dropped his shirt onto an alien beam. Oh, God. The man was gorgeous, with nicely curved muscle and a grace that Tank envied. Ignoring the threat of a muscle cramp, Tank hurried after him.

  The bedroom wasn’t as messy as Lev had warned. The piles of books and journals all had a certain symmetry, and laundry spilled over the edge of the laundry basket, but it looked better than Tank’s place had most of the time. Like in Tank’s quarters, the bed was in a niche in the wall, but this bed was fucking huge and low to the ground. Entire units could have orgies in it. Best of all, Lev stood in the middle of the room, his shirt off and his pants unbuttoned so the curled hairs barely showed. Unfortunately he had stopped.

  “Problem?” If Lev called this off now, Tank’s cock was going to explode.

  “You are incredibly attractive, even with the bruises.”

  Tank laughed. “Feel free to keep feeding my ego, but maybe we could do the ego stroking after.”

  “Are you telling me to shut up?”

  Tank took a step closer and slowly reached for Lev’s pants, closing his fingers around the waistband on either side of the zipper. “Maybe. Would you be annoyed if I said yes?”

  Lev started to breathe faster. “Surprisingly, no. Feel free to tell me to shut up at any time.” Lev raised his hands and rested them against Tank’s shoulders as Tank started working Lev’s zipper. Each tooth clicked loudly as Lev’s white briefs slowly appeared.

  Tank’s dick was already tenting his boxers, and as Tank freed Lev’s cock, he could see that it was just as hard. Lev wanted him. Knowing that, seeing the proof of that pressing against the white underwear, was about the hottest thing Tank could imagine. Tank let his hands slide inside Lev’s pants and slowly move down to cup Lev’s ass. Firm muscles under his hands and the heavy scent of musk and coffee sent sparks straight through to Tank’s libido.

  Lev’s pants slipped over his hips and fell to the ground, and Lev’s fingers pressed into Tank’s shoulders. “Bed,” Lev whispered. Tank could definitely go along with that. Lev shuffled backward, pulling Tank with him. Once Tank sat, Lev shifted to a spot between Tank’s legs. “You are a beautiful man.”

  “Lev.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Right.” Lev leaned in closer, and then his lips were against Tank’s. They pulled at each other, and Tank let himself fall backward. He gave an “umph” as Lev landed on him.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t care,” Tank muttered. Right now, short of demon attack, nothing was bothering him.

  Lev rolled to the side, and Tank took the opportunity to scoot farther up the bed and shimmy out of his boxers. His cock was already darkening with need. Lev pushed his own underwear off and rolled to face Tank. His hand came up to rest against Tank’s cheek for a second before he leaned in for the slowest, most gentle kiss of Tank’s life. Tank stroked up and down Lev’s side as he returned the kiss.

  Eventually Lev pulled back, his breath coming in heavy gasps. “You’re sure you want to try bottoming? We could do something less strenuous.”

  “I sure as hell want strenuous now. Trust me, if I don’t want something, I’m pretty good at saying so,” Tank promised.

  Lev nodded, but his eyes had a glazed expression as he studied Tank. Squirming a little, Tank gave in to an urge to suck in his stomach. He knew he had a good body and a really nice cock, but he wasn’t used to having a lover study him like a book. “Lev?”

  Shaking his head, Lev seemed to blink his way back to awareness. “I’ll get the condoms.” He rolled to the side and fumbled to get something out of a niche that he clearly used as a bedside table. When he took too long, Tank rested his hand against Lev’s back.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  Lev gave a rough laugh. “I’m about to have sex with a bruised lover who is a virgin to being penetrated during sex, and who happens to be more than fifteen years younger than I am. I’m feeling rather degenerate.”

  “Just to let you know, I’m pretty much ignoring everything except for the part where you said you’re about to have sex,” Tank pointed out.

  Lev turned around, condom in hand. “You’re unpleasantly honest at times.”

  “Funny enough, lots of people have told me that. Now, can we get started again?”

  Lev laughed and shook his head. Even better, he dropped a small bottle of oil onto the mattress and ripped a condom package open.

  “Whoo-hoo. We have lift off,” Tank encouraged him.

  “You’re not helping,” Lev complained softly, but he caught Tank by the back of the neck, holding him still while he kissed him. This time the kiss claimed Tank’s full attention. It was hungry. Challenging. Demanding. Tank’s cock almost throbbed with need as Lev leaned his weight against Tank’s side. By the time Lev pulled back, Tank was too breathless and kiss-stupid to say anything.

  Lev guided Tank to roll onto his stomach, and Tank shoved a pillow out of his way. His skin felt raw and overly sensitive as Lev trailed a finger down Tank’s spine and over his ass. Having Lev at his back made Tank feel vulnerable, but not in a bad way. He was just hyperaware of his body and Lev’s, of the way their legs pressed together, and the combined body heat made him sweat.

  After running his teeth over Tank’s shoulder gently, Lev scattered kisses down Tank’s side and back, his hands deftly weaving their way around Tank’s bruises. The tickle-light touch made Tank shiver. “This is going to be over really, really quick if you keep doing that,” Tank warned, but Lev ignored that as he feathered his hands across Tank’s body. Slowly, Lev moved to straddle Tank, the weight pinning Tank to the mattress.

  Clutching the edge of the mattress for dear life, Tank arched his back and struggled to lift his weight and Lev’s. He’d feared his bruises would make sex difficult, which was why he’d wanted to bottom. It turned out that he shouldn’t have worried. The bruises were off to the side enough that Tank only got twinges that did nothing to dim the intense pleasure.

  “Impatient,” Lev said with a chuckle, but he shifted so Tank could get his ass in the air, his knees tucked under him. The increased pressure made his leg ache, but Tank didn’t care. Tank couldn’t come up with even one coherent word, so that was as much of an invitation as Lev was getting.

  Lev returned to his muttering as cool drops fell on Tank’s hole, tickling the hot skin before Lev rubbed the oil in. One finger slid in easily before Tank really even expected it. He pushed himself up to his elbows, but then Lev’s voice turned soothing, and Lev’s free hand stroked up his back and pressed against his shoulders.

  Tank settled back down onto the bed as Lev imitated thrusting with his finger, more oil dripping down Tank’s crack before a second finger pushed in, and now Tank’s muscles felt the stretch. A drop of oil ran the wrong way, heading down Tank’s spine toward his shoulders, and Tank shivered. At the same time, Lev pressed deeper into Tank, and hello, Tank discovered the true joy of his prostate. Fingers did not do it justice, either that or Tank’s fingers were particularly mediocre at masturbating.

  “Oh, yeah. Hell yeah. Shit.” Tank fisted the pillow and rocked back and forth, pressing himself back onto Lev’s fingers.

  Then something larger pressed against Tank’s hole. A little corner of Tank’s brain was calculating circumferences and mass, but he ignored that part and focused on how his whole body felt overstretched and ready to pop.

  Tank pressed back, panting as Lev forced Tank’s body to open. Tank moaned, rocking slightly as he struggled against a need to flail—to impale himself on Lev’s cock or thrust wildly into the bed—to do something uncoordinated and stupid. As Lev settled forward, Tank’s ass stung the way his mouth might sting from a really good hot sauce or his skin might sting if he had a really good scratching session. He wanted more, even as his body warned him that he was riding the thin edge of a cliff that co
uld lead to badness. Lev’s hands settled at his hips, holding him firmly as Lev started to pull back.

  “No. God.”

  “Shhhhh. Let me,” Lev soothed him.

  Tank opened his mouth to complain, but then Lev slid back in, his cock filling him. The need for more nearly maddened Tank, and he arched his back. Lev moved with steady thrusts, eventually reaching some critical mass where shivers of pleasure started dancing up Tank’s spine and his balls drew up.

  Lev reached around to stroke Tank’s cock, and Tank lost all self-control. He didn’t care if he did something stupid or flailed. He threw himself back and then forward, hunting out Lev’s hand one moment, taking Lev’s cock the next, then…. Damn. Reverse. He needed that hand again. The sex degenerated into uncoordinated stabs forward and shoves backward and random cursing until Tank came with a shout. Only then did Lev take control again, thrusting himself in several more times until he came.

  Too soon, Lev was pulling out, his hands busy behind Tank, but Tank was way too focused on not caring as he lay in the middle of the wet spot. He couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen into his brain, and he wasn’t sure if that was the very, very good sex or the pillow.

  “Tank?”

  “Mmmm.”

  “Are you okay?” Lev settled next to him.

  “Okay is not the right word,” Tank said as he turned his head to blearily consider Lev. Why was he not surprised that Lev was a talker, even postsex?

  Lev smiled at him and reached out to trace figures on Tank’s shoulder. “I can’t believe I just deflowered a twenty-year-old. I’m having cognitive dissonance here.”

  “Seriously?” Tank blinked at Lev. “Who uses the word ‘deflowering’? Well, unless you’re busy plucking flowers off a hill, but trust me, if there was a flower up there, I’d notice. Probably.” The worst part was that he understood the deflowering half of that sentence more than the other half.

  Lev rolled his eyes and poked Tank in the nearest unbruised inch of skin. But the smile faded, and he went back to slowly stroking Tank’s arm. “I just want you to know that if you’re going to have some delayed panic over your sexuality, I will understand. I mean, the first guy who I let top me, the next day I couldn’t even make eye contact with him. I knew I was bisexual, and it was still weird. It’s okay to have some moments of….” Lev sighed and seemed to struggle to come up with the right word. “Complete embarrassment.”

  Tank snorted. He had a lot of faults, but refusing to deal with his own sexuality wasn’t one. “After what we did, trust me, I’m gay. I’m a gayathlon of gay, and I don’t actually know what that means, but you get my point.”

  With a laugh, Lev used his foot to trace a line up Tank’s bare leg. “For someone with an infinite talent for mangling the language, you manage to communicate very well.”

  “Can I get that in writing? I’ve got this old English teacher that I definitely want to send that to.” Tank stretched his knee out and groaned as the sore muscles complained. “Actually, she isn’t really old, not compared to other people, but when you’re in high school, people in their forties seem pretty ancient.”

  “Thanks,” Lev said dryly. “I feel ancient and degenerate now.”

  Tank might have apologized, only Lev was already struggling not to grin. Tank pulled his arm out from under his head and reached over to grab Lev by the waist and pull him close.

  “Get over here, you old perv, you.” With that, Tank settled down with his head against Lev’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Oh, yeah. Life was good.

  Chapter Eight

  A BUZZING noise startled Tank out of the half sleep.

  “God, I hate that thing,” Lev muttered. “It’s just the team signal on my radio.”

  Tank groaned. His body had new aches on old aches, but it felt good. Really good.

  “Trouble?” Tank asked as he forced one eye open.

  Lev snorted. “I doubt it. This is the ‘hey, whatcha up to’ signal. If there was anything official going on, the radio would make a shriller noise. It’s probably Clyde. He doesn’t want anyone to know it, but he’s a mother hen who clucks over any chicks he thinks belong to him. Don’t tell him this, but sometimes it’s reassuring. The last commander never went into the field, and he left his head of security to escort science people on scene. That captain was more into getting a promotion than clucking over some scientists. Captain Black takes his job a lot more seriously, but I still appreciate that Clyde is so involved. But sometimes he’s a little too much.”

  Opening both eyes, Tank propped himself up on one elbow. “If the colonel is calling….” He let his voice trail off.

  Lev tossed the phone back at the largest niche above the bed and slipped a hand around Tank’s waist. Tank, however, stayed up on one elbow.

  “Why do I have a feeling that the colonel does not appreciate being ignored?”

  “Because you’re an insightful person who recognizes unmitigated arrogance when he sees it?” Lev guessed sleepily. Tank laughed. Under all the absentminded-professor schtick, Lev had a mean sense of humor.

  “I don’t know about the insight, but the arrogance I can buy.” Tank moved Lev’s hand and then groaned as he forced his sore body to sit up.

  “What are you doing?” Lev squinted at him.

  “Getting pants on. Color me suspicious, but I don’t trust the colonel.”

  “And that’s why I would call you insightful. I’m not saying Clyde likes you, but you’re acting as if he’s going to come busting in here.” Lev rolled his eyes. However, his expression immediately turned thoughtful. “Just because I invited a man into my bed who I only met a few days ago while under the influence of alien hormones, and who didn’t know about the program until then, that does not mean Clyde will break in under some deluded belief that only psychopaths are ever attracted to me.” With a sigh, Lev sat up. “I’ll get dressed.”

  “Can I borrow a robe?” Tank’s clothes were still in the living room. Lev pointed at the floor, and Tank went to dig through a pile in the corner. “You two seem to have a complicated relationship.”

  “Complicated.” The laughter that slipped out of Lev was dark and humorless.

  Tank froze with one arm in the robe. “If you ever want to share, I’m here to listen. I’m a champion at bad relationships to an extent you cannot imagine. Unless you want to sacrifice me to an ancient hell god in return for ultimate cosmic power, you cannot drive me away, no matter how twisted up the story.”

  Lev snorted and promptly started choking. Smiling, Tank patted him on the back. “Hey, no choking to death over one bad joke. It’d be seriously hard to explain to the colonel.” Tank shifted into his worst Brooklyn. “‘You see, we were just talking, and I made one little demon joke, and suddenly Lev lost the ability to breathe. He just keeled over.’ Yeah, not really believable, and in the long run, I suck at lying, so stop trying to die.”

  It might not be all that funny as far as jokes went, but it was almost as if Lev had all this emotion that had to come out and Tank had popped the bubble. The result was a Lev gasping for air and turning red as he laughed. Tank wanted to see Lev laugh. The man lit up with joy when he finally put down all the burdens he carried with him every day.

  “Clyde would write you up after congratulating you. I think some days he wants to kill me.” Lev opened the door and started out into the living room.

  “Only when you make me listen to your explanations,” Colonel Aldrich commented. He was sitting on the loveseat with his feet up on the coffee table. Tank didn’t move intentionally, but instinct made him grab the nearest weapon—a vaguely penis-shaped chunk of alien pipe in his hand.

  “Clyde? What are you doing here?” Lev demanded, and Tank carefully put the pipe back on the floor.

  “Someone didn’t answer his radio,” the colonel pointed out. He might be talking to Lev, but he was definitely looking at Tank. Checking to make sure the robe was tied closed, Tank stepped out of the bedroom. What was the protocol for having a superior offic
er catch you boffing his friend? Worse, Tank was starting to think they were best friends. Were salutes involved? Tank had pretty much thought that basic training had covered every stupid, silly, unlikely, and improbable situation and the rules for handling it, but they’d left out a couple of pieces of protocol.

  “And yet you’re here.” Lev had his cranky voice out.

  “You didn’t answer your radio.” The colonel finally focused on Lev.

  “Because I didn’t want to.”

  “Which is why I’m here.”

  Lev stopped midword, with his mouth still open. Taking a step back, he visibly collected himself. “Clyde,” he said slowly, “why are you here?”

  “Lev, because you didn’t answer your radio.” The colonel smiled for one second, and then he seemed to notice that Lev was not amused. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to Tank, which was so very much of the bad. “John said he was working out with Tankersley. I wanted to make sure he didn’t break anything Tankersley might need to wash dishes tomorrow.”

  “Clyde,” Lev snapped.

  “Hey, it was concern. I was showing concern,” the colonel insisted, but Tank was fairly sure that was pissiness.

  “You’re being an ass.”

  “Right now, no. In general, often,” the colonel agreed. “Tankersley, did John break anything important?” The colonel looked Tank up and down in a way that might be sexual coming from someone else, but it was definitely a warning when it came from the colonel.

  “No, sir,” Tank crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his clothes on the floor. Oh yeah, subtlety for the win. Tank figured by tomorrow morning he would be in the stockade.

  “Tank, you’re right. You’re a terrible liar,” Lev said as he went over and scooped up Tank’s clothes, bringing them over and shoving them onto Tank’s arms. “Show Clyde the hip.”

  Tank made a noise that sounded a whole lot like a squeak, even to his own ears. It wasn’t the manliest reaction, but being asked to show a naked hip to a colonel who hated him was not high on his list of things he wanted to do.