No Quarter (Bounty, Book One)

by d'Abo, Christine

  “You’re so tight around my cock,” Gar said as he turned his face and licked the inside of Faolan’s forearm. “You haven’t let many people fuck you. Have you?”

  Faolan growled, his grip tightening on Gar’s wrists. “Don’t.”

  Gar grinned. “You love it though. Gods, your cock is leaking you’re so turned-on.”

  Faolan dropped his chin to his chest. “Shut…up. Yes or no only.”

  He wanted to play it that way, eh? “Yes, yes, yes.” He started the steady chant soft, keeping it in time with the rise and fall of Faolan’s body.

  Eyes open, he saw the moment Faolan realized what he was doing. The older man shook his head and laughed softly before locking his gaze on Gar’s. The next yes died in Gar’s mouth as he lost himself in what he saw reflected back at him. Emotions he wasn’t used to seeing directed at him filled Faolan’s eyes—genuine amusement, lust and something that looked like adoration. Gar’s chest tightened and his stomach flipped. He didn’t deserve this.

  The moment fled once Faolan’s eyes rolled back into his head as Gar snapped his hips up sharply. Faolan cried out when Gar repeated the action, knowing he’d hit the other man’s prostate.

  “Again,” Faolan begged.

  “Yes, Gods yes.”

  Faolan clenched around Gar’s cock, every muscle in his body tightening for a moment before a sudden scream erupted from him. Cum shot out from his shaft, covering Gar’s stomach and chest with thick, white ropes. Faolan didn’t stop slamming his body down, riding out his orgasm until he was left gasping for air and sweat covered every inch of his skin.

  Pulling on control Gar didn’t know he possessed, he somehow managed to keep from following Faolan over bliss’s edge. He held on, body poised on the brink, but waiting for the command to fall. Faolan slowed his pace but didn’t stop. He leaned over Gar, cum now binding their chests together, and kissed him hard. Tongues caressed until they were both left gasping for air. Faolan finally lifted his head, but didn’t pull away too far. Their lips still touched as Faolan smiled.

  “Fuck me ‘til you come.”

  Gar lifted his hands up, looping them around Faolan’s neck. With a practiced flip, he rolled them over until he was on top, allowing him the leverage needed to piston into Faolan’s welcoming body. It was only a matter of seconds before his orgasm won out, dragging a cry from his chest and cum from his body.

  Neither man spoke, instead communicating through a series of kisses and sighs. Gar nuzzled Faolan’s neck until the skin was red from his stubble.

  “You love making rules, but can’t seem to follow them very well,” Faolan said, slapping Gar’s ass. “I should punish you for that.”

  His rules had kept him safe until now. Faolan had changed things.

  “Rules are meant to be broken.” He rolled onto his side and held his hands up. “Do you mind?”

  Faolan made short work of the bindings, winding the tie around his hand once it was free of Gar. Holding it to his nose, Faolan breathed in deep. “I’m keeping this.”

  Gar stretched out beside him, massaging his wrists as the blood flow returned. “Loot to add to your booty, Captain?”

  When Faolan didn’t laugh or come back with a witty retort, Gar turned to look at him. “Faolan?”

  The long frown on the older man’s face was an unfamiliar sight. He kept his gaze away from Gar, making it difficult to get a sense of what was going on in his head. Reaching out, Gar traced a finger down the length of Faolan’s neck. “You okay?”

  “Despite what you think,” Faolan said, his voice hesitant, “I don’t normally do this sort of thing.”

  “Have sex? Do I need to remind you of the circumstances of our meeting?”

  “I’m serious, Gar.” Faolan finally turned his face to look at him. “I don’t do this.”

  Walking over the edge of a cliff must feel remarkably similar. “Talk? Cuddle? Help me out here.”

  Faolan’s lips compressed and his jaw clenched, but he said nothing. The urge to punch something, or someone, reared up inside him. Gods, this was the benefit to staying alone in his ship in the middle of space. Things were nice and clear, with no cocky, infuriating space pirates to piss him off. He knew it was too good to be true—too good for him to have any part of it.

  “Look, sorry if I’m coming across like an idiot here, but I’m a tad confused.” Gar pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. “You said you don’t do this with no indication of what this is. Do you want to do this with me or do you want to run screaming out the airlock? I know my preference is quickly shifting to the latter.”

  The dip and pull of the mattress caught Gar’s attention. He lifted his hands from his face and stared. “Where are you going?”

  “You need to rest. I’m going to go program the ship to take us to the Belle Kurve.” Faolan paused halfway through buttoning up his pants to face Gar. “Unless you have a problem with that? It’s your ship after all and I wouldn’t want to piss you off.”

  Things had soured between them and for the life of him, Gar didn’t have a clue what he’d done wrong. “Not at all. Just don’t ding her coming out of orbit.”

  Faolan nodded. “Get some rest. You’ve been up for nearly two days. I’ll wake you when we get close.”

  “Thanks.” Faolan was out the door before the word left Gar’s lips.

  Rolling onto his back, he let his forearm fall across his face and let out a sigh. What the fuck had just happened?

  Chapter Ten

  The cool air of the cockpit did little to sooth Faolan’s annoyance. He first thought Gar would follow him to push matters, grind him down until a confession fell from Faolan’s mouth. He should have realized the young man didn’t need to sink to such tactics, especially when his mark had such a big mouth and a normal willingness to talk.

  Well, not this time.

  Somehow, over the hour Faolan had Gar tied and bound, naked and wanting on his bed, Faolan’s emotions had crept out to play. How they’d escaped his notice, Faolan still wasn’t sure, but there they stood, bright and colorful, inevitable and messy. In three days, Gar had accomplished what only one other person had managed over the course of his life—he made Faolan want to love.

  The ship’s computer beeped softly at him, feeding a steady stream of readings from the sector. The noise was soothing, though it did little to clear his mind. It didn’t make sense, his feelings for this man. He was eight years Gar’s senior and a criminal living on the edge of proper society, hunted on a daily basis by others. He had nothing to offer Gar that the young man didn’t already possess on his own. Faolan’s life was his ship and his crew. They looked to him to keep them safe and provide for their livelihood—the very things he knew Gar instinctively avoided.

  Faolan couldn’t escape his obligations—never really wanted to.

  Since Kayla’s death—Gods, had it really been ten years—he’d made a point of not romantically attaching himself to anyone. With his illness and impending death, he didn’t want to put someone else through the emotional pain of dealing with him through the end stages. It was bad enough he knew Mace would stick by his side until the bitter end, even if it was the last thing he wanted to put her through. He really hoped she didn’t find out.

  If he were being honest with himself—and Faolan tried to do that if nothing else— if there was one person he could choose to be there with him, it would be Gar. Yes, it was selfish and totally out of character from the flamboyant Captain Wolf everyone was used to seeing, but he was only a man. A lonely one at that. There was something about the bounty hunter, a solid core of unshakable strength he would be able to draw on to help him focus.

  Faolan wouldn’t do it. He didn’t want to put that on Gar.

  Closing his eyes, Faolan rested his head back on the pilot’s chair and did his best to ignore the overwhelming scent of Gar in the room. Despite all their differences, their love of space was at least the same. He recognized the look of awe when Gar stared out into the vastness of the
space before them. Most men and women who lived amongst the stars shared it—the realization that you were nothing more than a speck in the enormity of the universe. It was a humbling thought.

  The steady beeping of the computer woke Faolan from his doze. Shit, he’d fallen asleep again. The alarm indicated new ships had entered the sector—com beacons announcing them as belonging to the Guild. He pushed every thought he could from his mind and watched as a battery of vessels moved to the battle location and ran a scan of the drifting hulks of the ships. He knew the Geilt was safe from their sensors, but he wanted to be prepared to pull out of orbit if necessary.

  The rescue operation of Jason’s ships took longer than Faolan anticipated. According to the com chatter, the explosions had not only rendered the surviving people blind, but taken out all shields, leaving them open to damage from floating debris. Two of the five ships were unreachable and the crews were presumed dead. The recovery was quickly followed by a trace of their radiation trail, which nicely led them back to the path of the escape pod and the end stop of the dimension gate.

  “Come on, boys, figure out where we’ve gone.”

  Jason clearly needed to hire more highly skilled staff. Or at the very least, stop trying to kill off his top operatives. It took at least another hour for Jason’s team to crack the dimension gate locator relay and the destination of the last object. Thankfully, this was a little-used sector of space and no other ships had passed through since Gar sent the pod on its way. They finally activated the gate and space folded around them, swallowing the ships whole.

  Faolan let out the breath he’d been holding and pressed his forehead to the computer console. Another disaster averted. A grand total of twelve hours and twenty minutes from the time Gar had sent the escape pod out until Jason’s goons left to chase the bait. He needed to move them quickly now to escape the Guild operatives’ notice.

  Easing the ship higher into orbit, he set their destination and pushed it to full throttle. The Geilt was a small but maneuverable ship, but what he hadn’t realized was how sensitive it was to the pilot’s commands. It took him a few minutes to get a feel for her, a grin splitting his face once Faolan got the control he wanted. Gar flew the ship in such a way Faolan had never realized the full extent of the younger man’s skills. Impressive.

  The internal com system beeped at him. “We’re moving.”

  Gar’s voice was thick and sleep-heavy. Images of his naked body stretched out beneath white sheets blossomed in the forefront of Faolan’s mind. His cock twitched its appreciation at the thought and seemed more than willing to follow through. Too bad his brain had entered into the equation. Reaching down with one hand to squeeze his uncooperative shaft, he hit the com button with the other.

  “Jason’s team has finally left. You didn’t tell me you were the only intelligent one in the bunch.”

  “How long did it take them to crack the gate?”

  “An hour ten.”

  “Gods. I’m glad he fired me. Bunch of idiots.”

  Faolan chuckled. “Is that what you’re telling yourself now? He fired you?”

  “Shut up, Wolf.” There was a long pause as bed sheets were shifted. “I’m getting dressed and will be up there soon.”

  “Don’t bother. I need to get us in position before we can jump and meet up with my ship. Enjoy the lie in.”

  “Faolan—”

  “Oh, for the Gods’ sake, Stitt. Rest! It’s not like you’re going to get a lot more of it over the next few weeks. Jason has a long reach.”

  Another pause, only this time there was no sound to give Faolan any indication of what was going on. He knew Gar would be debating the right thing to do versus what he should do in his mind. The thought of the younger man’s scowl made him smirk.

  “I thought we had established you trusted me to drive your ship, Stitt?”

  “Are you sure you are fine up there?”

  The question caught him off guard. Faolan straighten in the chair, fists balled at his side. “I’m better than you are. Plus I need to contact my ship. Don’t want you getting any information on my communication codes.”

  He could practically hear Gar’s eye roll. “Fine. Wreck the Geilt and I’ll kill you on the spot.”

  “You say the sweetest things.”

  Faolan slammed his hand down on the com button to end the conversation. Stupid, childish ass! Why did Faolan think he’d felt anything at all for Gar? He would never trust him, let him beneath the solid armor he wore to protect his emotions. Faolan learned long ago he couldn’t do anything less than hand his heart over to his partner, no matter how painful the process would be. He refused to be a part of any one-sided relationship.

  He froze, hand suspended over the ship’s controls. Sure, acknowledging he had the beginning of feelings for Gar was one thing, but a relationship? He’d only bloody well known the man for a few days! Had he not sat here a short time ago saying he didn’t want a relationship? He didn’t, did he?

  Fuck.

  Work—he needed to get back to the task at hand. Get back to his ship, get the stone, sell it and pay his crew. Then he’d see if there was enough left to pay for his medication and allow him to disappear off into a little-known sector of this galaxy to die in peace.

  Far away from Gar Stitt.

  Punching in the jump coordinates, he gave half a thought to contacting Gar to prepare him. Instead, he hit the ship warning alarm, slid the Geilt where it needed to be in front of the gate, pressed the button and held on for dear life.

  The dimension shift was worse than before. Faolan’s stomach bottomed out as they shot back into normal space and his head spun madly. A line of sweat formed on his upper lip, one he wiped away with the back of his hand. He needed to keep it together a little bit longer before he could allow himself to fall apart. Not until he was locked safely in his quarters.

  This was a heavily traveled sector and Faolan needed to move the ship a safe distance away to prevent a collision. It proved more challenging than he first anticipated, the spinning of his head refusing to go away. Rocking the ship more than he liked, Faolan finally managed to get her safely off the main traffic route. The increased communication lines in the sector made it easy for him to piggyback a signal off three relays to reach his desired target.

  “Belle Kurve, come in. Daddy’s come home with the booty.”

  Galactic static crackled to life on the vid screen as his message traveled Gods knew where. He hit the repeater button, sending it out into the cosmos once again. Concern grew in his chest, but was quickly squashed when a high-pitched whine filled the cabin as the Kurve’s jacked frequency cut through.

  “You asshole!” Mace’s smiling face popped up on the screen after a brief wait. Faolan laughed and pressed his fingertip to the image of her nose. “You had us worried sick, Faolan.”

  “Sorry, pet, but the hunter and I ran into a little bit of difficulty. Took me longer than I thought to find my way home.”

  Mace crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. “What trouble? Am I going to have to string this jerk up or did you skin him alive already?”

  “Not at all. He was double-crossed and stabbed in the back for good measure by his boss. Might want to consider giving him a hug instead.” Faolan winked.

  “Pardon? Hug?” Mace leaned forward, eyes fixed on his. “Do you have a thing for this boy? I’m assuming it’s a boy as that seems to be your preference these days.”

  “That’s because no woman can live up to you in my eyes, pet.” Little wench was too perceptive for her own good. “And I assure you, Stitt and I share a purely professional relationship.”

  She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Did he use his cuffs on you?”

  Grinning, he winked again. “Hell yes. But I got to use a tie on him.”

  Mace laughed. “You are something else, Wolf. I swear you could flirt yourself out of a death squad.”

  The way she’d said his name sent a tingle crawling down his spine. It was no differen
t than the thousand other times his name had slipped from her lips only this time it had changed, grown oddly familiar.

  Mace frowned. “What? You look like you swallowed a tar drake.”

  “Nothing.” He waved her away with his hand. “You ready to bring me to my baby?”

  “Just waiting on word from you.”

  “Good girl. Let’s hit meeting point beta in five hours. Come in hot and we’ll jump out together.”

  “You got it, boss. You good until then? Anything you want me to have ready for you when you get here?”

  “Hydro vodka. A big, chilled bottle of hydro vodka would be amazing.”

  Mace tugged on her earlobe and grinned. “You bringing your hunter on board or are we leaving him behind?”

  A good question—one Faolan didn’t have an answer to yet. “I’ll keep you posted. Be ready in either case.”

  “Just keep him in line if you do. You know how I feel about them.”

  “They are the scum of the universe and must be burned out of existence. Yes, I’m well aware.” It wasn’t as if he’d forget the life he’d rescued Mace from all those years ago. “I promise you’ll like Stitt. He’s bitchy like you.”

  Mace flipped him the finger.

  He laughed. “See you soon, pet. Wolf out.”

  The screen winked out as the cockpit door slid open. Gar stood in the entrance, dressed in a full black suit, including a vest and a blood red tie. The image he painted should have been slightly ridiculous, but it wasn’t. Gar looked more at ease in his formal wear than most men Faolan had met over the years. The sexy cut of the fabric certainly flattered the younger man’s athletic frame. He looked older than his twenty-four years, a beacon shining amidst the chaos that Faolan desperately wanted to cling to.

  Gods, no wonder he was starting to fall for the man.

  “Is everything all right up here?” Gar didn’t come any closer. His hands twitched nervously at his sides.

  Faolan hated that he’d turned the otherwise confident bounty hunter into an uncertain schoolboy. Normally he’d make some quick, offhand remark or shoot him a leer and all would be right between them. Really, it should be simple. But as Faolan opened his mouth to say something, he found himself unable to brush things off.