by Becky Black
“I knew you’d come for me.” He moaned it as they moved together, Raine seemed to be trying to go slower than usual, Kit thought, perhaps wary of Kit’s exhaustion or wanting the moment to last. But passion soon took him in its grip, making him push harder, faster. “I knew you’d come for me.”
“I’ll always come for you.”
Kit wanted to giggle at the words. Coming was going to happen damn soon. But Raine’s words meant so much more. Meant everything. He’d never leave Kit to face danger alone. Not if it lay in his power to help.
But in three weeks time, he would have to.
Three weeks they had to make the most of. He pulled Raine closer until kisses rained on Kit’s chest and his body tightened around Raine, pleasure tearing though him in a wave, hot as lava. He wrapped his arms and legs around Raine again as Raine cried out and called Kit’s name over and over as he climaxed.
“Kit? Are you with me?”
Kit opened his eyes, coming back from the fuzzy pink place he’d been. Between his painkillers and his orgasm, he had the strength of a kitten. He lay in Raine’s arms, pressed close on the narrow bunk.
“Mmm, with you. Always with you.” If only “always” could be true. “Don’t let me go to sleep yet. We have so little time. We have to make the most of it.”
“Shh. The company will work it out.”
He sounded so sure. For a few moments, Kit allowed himself to imagine leaving Saira as a member of the Dawn’s crew. Sharing a cabin with Raine, officially partners. Though he’d never seen a future that included his being a spacer, so much had changed. But he knew it couldn’t happen.
“Company can’t fix it.”
“You have to trust in the law, Kit. You’re innocent. Trust the law, the captain, and the company. And me. We’re all on your side.”
His words sprang unexpected tears into Kit’s eyes. “Thanks, Dan.” He swallowed, trying to bring himself back under control, hoping Raine would put the husky and cracked tone of his voice down to tiredness. He didn’t argue anymore. Let Raine have his fantasy. He’d have to face reality soon enough.
He could still ask Raine to come with him, but, like Jeff, he might balk at giving up everything. It would be selfish of Kit to even ask. It would be madness for anyone to give up everything for something as tricky as love.
Kit wouldn’t ask.
He couldn’t go through the disappointment again.
* * *
Two weeks to go to Saira. Kit was back at work, his hands nearly healed and able to wield his mop again.
“You okay, Kit?” Gracie asked as she wiped down tables and he mopped. The mess hall stood empty after lunch. “You’re quiet today.”
“Raine was talking about after Saira again,” he said. “Getting a bigger cabin.”
“So that’s good, right? Nice big bed.”
Kit sighed and dipped his mop in the soapy water.
“There is no ‘after Saira’ for us, but I can’t make him see it. He thinks the company is going to magically fix everything.”
“They might.”
“It’s not gonna happen. After Saira my ass is on a one-way transport back to jail.”
She glanced around and moved closer to him, spoke quietly.
“Unless you escape. You’re still planning to, aren’t you?”
“Don’t ask me, Gracie. I won’t answer.” He wouldn’t involve her in any way. He wouldn’t even tell her his intentions.
“Look, Kit, I agree with you. The company probably can’t help you. The law isn’t on the side of people like us, is it? So you could ask Raine to help you escape.”
“No.”
“He’d do it.”
“I know he would.”
“Then why not ask?”
“Raine’s worked hard to get where he is. How can I ask him to throw it all away? It’s not fair.”
“Fair doesn’t come into it. He loves you.”
“Today he loves me. What about next year, two, three years? What if by then we wish we’d never met? Love doesn’t last forever.”
“Not with that attitude.” She scowled at him, looking as if she wanted to toss the wet cloth she held right at his cynical, miserable head.
“Just forget it. I’ll give evidence against Taylor at the hearing. Then one way or another, it’s going to be good-bye.”
* * *
The door buzzer surprised Raine as he relaxed on his bed, wearing only shorts, enjoying having the heat up high enough to be comfortable. Kit should still be on dinner duty, surely? Though he knew the door code and could come and go as he liked, he still buzzed first if he thought Raine was in.
Raine got up, putting aside his Link. He’d been reading a book. It was a relief not to have the tracker data there as a constant temptation to virtually stalk Kit around the ship anymore. He put on a robe—in case it wasn’t Kit—and opened the door.
“Gracie?”
“Sorry, were you asleep? Can I come in?”
“No, ah, I wasn’t asleep.” He cinched the belt of his robe tighter, self-conscious as he let her in. Rather a long time since he’d had a young woman in his cabin. Since never, in fact.
“Wow!” She fanned herself with her hand. “Kit wasn’t joking about the heat.”
“Sorry. I’ll turn it down.” He fiddled with it and sent cold air blasting into the room. Gracie stood by the vent and sighed with relief. Raine gave her a glass of water, hoping she wouldn’t faint or anything.
“Is there something I can do for you, Gracie?”
“Not for me. For Kit.”
“Ah…I don’t really feel comfortable talking about my private life. I know Kit probably talks to you, but I’m not that kind of man.”
“I know that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t we all know that? Don’t panic, I’m not here to talk about your private stuff.” She stopped and drank her water—a move Raine recognized as a delaying tactic. “I’ve been thinking about this for hours, and I didn’t know if I should come and tell you or not. But I think I should. For Kit.”
“Is something wrong?”
“He’s going to try to escape after the hearing.” She said the words in a great rush, then took another gulp of water. Sweat showed on her forehead, despite the cold air of the vent.
“He told you this?”
“No, of course not. He doesn’t want me involved. But I know.”
“You just…know?” Should Raine accept that? She and Kit were close. Also, people like Gracie, people nobody took much notice of, often understood and observed more than people gave them credit for. Back when he’d been an MP and looking for the truth about some event, he’d often found it by questioning the one person everyone thought of as the quiet, dumb one in the group. When people don’t talk to you much, there are so many fewer distractions.
“And you have to do something about it,” Gracie said, ignoring his skeptical tone. “You know what his escape plans are like—terrible! He’ll either fail or he’ll get himself into worse trouble.”
She made a good point. Kit didn’t have a brilliant record in the department of cunning planning. He’d stowed away on the Dawn on a whim. His last escape attempt had been foiled the instant he left the ship.
Raine groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, his head starting to throb. Damn. Kit had stopped talking about them having only the time until Saira, and Raine thought he’d decided to trust the law and the company, even if he didn’t respond much to talk about afterward. But his plans hadn’t changed—he’d just been keeping quiet about them.
“You’d better go,” he said. “I need to get dressed. Kit and I need to have a little talk.” He started gathering clothes from the wardrobe.
“Wait! You can’t go and confront him.”
“I think I can. You’re right. He’ll get himself into bigger trouble. I have to bring him to his senses.”
“Do you think that’s why I told you? So you could stop him?”
Raine froze, a shirt in his hands. “
Well, yes. Why else?”
Gracie sighed impatiently. “You are a big dumb ox, like Kit says.”
“What?”
“I told you so you could…” She shook her head. “Tell you what, Chief. You sit here and think about it for a while. Think about the possibility there might be a couple of other options worth considering.” She glanced at the clock. “Hell, I’d better get back. We’ll be starting cleanup in a second, and they’ll be wondering where I’ve gone. Hah, Trish will want to put a tracker on me.” She opened the door and dashed out. The door slid closed behind her.
Raine put down the shirt and shook his head slowly as if trying to shake out the pieces of the puzzle Gracie had handed him. If Kit planned to make an escape attempt on Saira, then what did Gracie expect Raine to do, aside from stop him? Did she expect him to do what he’d once offered and help Kit escape? Kit had probably told her about that. He seemed happy to talk about anything with the girl, even quite intimate matters, something Raine found odd.
But somehow he doubted she meant Raine should only help Kit escape. She’d been a supporter of their relationship from the start. While they’d been broken up and Kit had been seeing Parker, both Raine and Parker had come in for some blistering glares from her in the mess hall. Quite put Raine off his food sometimes—and those were only the ones she directed at Parker. When on the receiving end himself, he’d usually been driven from the room.
So he couldn’t believe she meant for him to help Kit escape and simply wave him good-bye. Gracie wanted them to be together. But she didn’t believe the law would clear Kit or the company could save him, so she didn’t think they could be together on the Light of Dawn.
Which left only one option.
Chapter Twenty
Kit didn’t have kitchen duty the morning they arrived at Saira. After dinner cleanup the night before, Trish told him to sleep in the next day. He took his leave of her with thanks for her kindness over the last few months. He knew he’d never see her again.
Used to waking at 0530, he jerked awake with a feeling of panic around 0545, then lay back with a sigh when he remembered he didn’t have to get up yet. At his side, Raine stirred. He adjusted his hold on Kit without waking and stilled again.
Kit snuggled against him. They had no choice but to hold on to each other in the narrow bunk. Some nights Kit woke with Raine pinning him to the wall and had to shove him away, waking him up. On the plus side, this often led to some interesting middle-of-the-night shenanigans.
But Raine wasn’t crushing him now, so Kit let him sleep. He rested his head on Raine’s chest to feel the regular rise and fall as he breathed, to hear his heart thumping, and to smell soap and sweat on his skin. To imprint it all in his memory. He’d miss this so much. The big lug had grown on him. Love you, Chief Stick-up-the-ass. He tried not to think about the moment he’d have to say good-bye. He’d as soon rip his heart out and drop-kick it. The captain had no good news for them, though she said the company lawyers were still busy on Kit’s behalf, determined to help him. Too late, he knew. As soon as the Taylor hearing ended, the cops would drag him off. Inevitable.
He drifted into a half-asleep state. Making the most of the time they had left had been taking all of Kit’s and Raine’s free time and cutting into their sleep. Warm and safe in Raine’s arms for the last time, he floated on a cloud of denial and wishful thinking, imagining waking up like this every morning.
After a while, he woke again and looked at the time. Almost 0630. They’d get up around 0700. Damn, he should have woken Raine earlier, because they didn’t have long and Kit had to say good-bye properly.
He turned the lights on, half-strength, and watched Raine’s face change from the relaxation of sleep. Kit stroked Raine’s chest and trailed his fingers downward. He pushed the bedclothes away and ran his fingers over Raine’s belly, following the trail of wiry hair and then along the warm skin of his cock. It stirred under his fingers, and he stroked it gently, like it was a kitten or something. Raine made a snorting sound, and his body arched upwards.
“Dan,” Kit whispered in his ear. “Wake up, sweetheart.”
A conscious Raine would never let Kit get away with calling him sweetheart; he’d scowl and ask him if he thought Raine was his wife. So it felt nice to sneak it in. Kit’s mother had used the word for anyone she believed to be fundamentally good at heart. Someone gentle and kind, however gruff and tough they appeared. Raine was a sweetheart.
Raine opened his eyes, and after the momentary confusion of waking, he turned to smile at Kit. “Is it time to get up?” He rubbed sleep from his eyes.
“Not yet.”
Raine lifted a hand and pulled Kit closer to kiss him. “Good morning anyway.” He glanced down at himself, the bedclothes pushed down nearly to his knees. Kit was still stroking his cock, which began to respond rapidly. “Nice wake-up call. Rather cold, though.”
They kept the temperature set low enough to keep Kit from overheating as they slept, so Kit felt he owed him a treat in return.
“Let me take your mind off the cold.”
He straddled Raine, making him shuffle more into the middle of the bunk, then worked his way down, kissing and licking and sometimes nipping. Raine’s cock pressed into him as he moved, first against Kit’s erection, then his belly and his chest, before he reached it with his mouth. Some teasing kisses and licks brought Raine to the point of begging for more, moaning out his pleas for Kit to suck him, oh God, do it.
After teasing him long enough, Kit answered those pleas and dipped his head, engulfing Raine’s cock, taking it in deeply. Raine grabbed the edge of the bunk with one hand, stroked Kit’s hair with the other. Gentle, despite his desire and urgency. A sweetheart. No argument.
As much as he loved sucking Raine, he wanted more for their final time. Today this was only foreplay. He wanted them to be joined, bonded, for the last time and forever. A memory to carry the rest of their lives. He turned his mind from the future and concentrated on the now. When he lifted his head, Raine groaned out a protest, but Kit shushed him.
“Just getting your motor running, big fella.” He reached over to the shelf by the bunk and grabbed the lube. He didn’t grab the condoms. He trusted Raine entirely. If he needed them, or if Raine didn’t trust him, he had only to say something. But he said nothing as Kit began to rub the lube onto his cock.
“I want to ride you,” Kit said and saw Raine’s eyes widen with anticipation. “Gonna ride you like a bull, big man.” Not sweetheart this time. Raine nodded. His cock felt hot enough to burn. Going to be like a red-hot poker up the ass. Kit giggled at the thought.
“Do it,” Raine begged, hips grinding, pushing against Kit’s hand. Kit wasted no more time. He applied some lube to himself, though he thought he might have slathered enough on Raine for the both of them.
He straddled Raine, held him steady, and lowered carefully onto the well-lubed cock, let it fill him slowly, relishing every second. He felt as if he’d never fully appreciated Raine’s cock until now. Not the biggest he’d seen but thicker than average. Even after doing it so often with Raine, it took Kit a moment to get used to the way it stretched him.
Reaching out, Raine stroked Kit. Kit pushed against the hand as he moved up and down on Raine’s cock, and the double pleasure became intense beyond belief. He didn’t even have to think much about the angle anymore. Raine fit perfectly, giving Kit maximum stimulation. Never this good with anyone else. Never.
The thought made him want to weep even as he hurtled toward his climax. There’d never be anyone else like Raine—he couldn’t get this lucky twice. If he escaped, he’d have to take up with men who could offer him at least temporary protection in exchange for his favors. Or he’d spurn anything but casual encounters, unwilling to trust anyone with his name and his freedom.
The prospects were worse if he didn’t escape. He had no illusions about what awaited him in prison. Even awaiting trial, he’d had to fend off advances, and that had been from the guards. The hair wo
uld have to go. Cut, even shaved. He’d attract less attention without it.
Stop it! Here and now, he was with Raine, whom he loved, who loved him. Lover. What a word. What a concept. He bent down, and his hair fell forward to brush Raine’s chest.
“Kit. Oh Kit.”
“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.” He smiled, but he loved to hear it. Especially in that sensual moan.
“Say my name,” Raine begged. “Please.”
“Dan. Sweet Dan. My monster.”
“Kit, I love you.”
Kit’s throat closed in a choke; his words came out like a sob. “I love you, Dan. I love you. Never forget me.” He shouldn’t have said that last part, in case he gave too heavy a hint of his plans to run, but Raine didn’t seem to notice. He said no more as he became inarticulate, thrusting and writhing under Kit; his cries of pleasure had no words in them. His hand on Kit’s cock faltered as he lost concentration, and Kit wrapped his hand around it, restoring the rhythm, matching it as he rode for the finish line. Faster, faster, faster.
He shattered into fragments, flying apart and then merging into a ball of white light so bright it blasted his mind blank. Raine cried out, climaxing, as Kit collapsed onto him, boneless, a dead weight, held him as they both panted, chests heaving.
Good-bye, Dan. Good-bye.
Kit closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was alone on the bunk. Raine emerged from the bathroom, naked, freshly showered, hair still damp and skin pink from the hot water and the toweling dry. He started to dress.
“I have to go and brief my team,” he said. “Between guarding Taylor, you, and the captain on the station, we’re going to be busy. You can sleep a bit longer if you want.”
“Dan, we need to talk.”
“We’ll talk later,” Raine said. “Meet me for breakfast about 0830?”
“But—”
“The hearing starts at 1000, so that gives us plenty of time. Dress smartly.”
“But, Raine—” Too late. He finished dressing—he could dress annoyingly fast—grabbed his jacket, and left.
Kit sat up, scowling. He didn’t want Raine to be brokenhearted or anything, but he’d like to see at least some evidence he cared they would never see each other again after today. They were going to meet for breakfast, but they could hardly talk privately on the mess deck. Maybe Raine didn’t want to let him say good-bye, because then it would be real. Unless he had some plan, which would surely mess up Kit’s plan—such as it was.