His secret was out.
“Mr. Stitt, if you’re going to refuse to listen to me, then you can get the hell out of my med bay. Do I make myself clear? I’ve helped with the concussion, now let me do the rest of my job.”
Faolan knew he should be reacting with joy, or at the very least crack a smile at the prospect, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.
Gar had, completely at random, grabbed three vials of a drug used to treat his poisoning. Not a cure, but close enough.
Doc hadn’t been pleased when Gar spilled the facts of Faolan’s condition to her. She’d yelled at Faolan for a solid ten minutes as to why he hadn’t told her the second he’d become ill before pulling him into a crushing hug and running a full bio scan. He knew the young man heard every curse floating through his head—he had yet to take the stone off.
“With this I can squeeze another good five to ten years for you.”
Five to ten years—it was more than he’d expected. Swallowing, Faolan tried to keep his head clear of any thoughts as he let the new information sink in. “As long as the bounty hunters don’t get me first.”
Doc chuckled. “Well, no one claimed piracy against the Loyalists garnered a long life. It’s better than the three months you had.”
Gar sucked in a breath as a jolt hit Faolan’s body. “So little?”
“The meds you took masked the symptoms, but did very little to stall the poison. You’re lucky to be alive at all.”
He should be dead—the realization scared the shit out of him.
“Doc, would you mind administering a dose now?” Gar asked after a moment of silence, his hand sliding along the back of Faolan’s neck. “I’ll take him to his quarters after that and force him to rest.”
Faolan saw the silent look traded between his lover and doctor. Instead of ignoring it, he slid off the bed and crossed his arms. “Doc, shoot me up with that stuff and let me get back to my quarters. Stitt and I need to talk.”
Smirk on her face, Doc nodded as she prepared the injection. “Who am I to stand in the way of a couple’s spat?”
“We’re not a couple,” Faolan said at the same time as Gar.
Doc tried to hide her smile, to no avail. “Of course not. Now don’t move, Captain. This is going to sting.”
The serum didn’t sting—it burned, twisting through his circulatory system. Faolan cried out, his legs weakening as the poison fought against its attacker. Before he fell to the floor, Gar’s strong arms caught him and held him up.
“Shit. Get him on the bed, Stitt.”
“No.” Faolan pushed Doc away. “My quarters.”
“Are you an idiot? This was way further advanced than I realized. You’re not going anywhere without medical supervision.” Doc shoved a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “No arguing.”
Gods, I don’t want anyone to see me like this. “Last time I checked, Doc, I was still captain of this ship.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Gar’s deep voice cut through the tension. “If there’s a problem I’ll let you know.”
Doc let out a short huff. “If there’s a problem I doubt he’ll let you know.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have ways of making him talk.” Gar pulled Faolan close. “Come on, Captain. Let’s get you to your bed before your crew realizes you’re a mere mortal.”
“I can walk.” Faolan stepped away from Gar. “Let’s just get there fast.”
The halls of the ship were busy as always. Most people suspected Faolan had taken Gar as a lover based on their short time together on board the Belle Kurve. As they walked toward his quarters, Gar’s body too close to be casual, Faolan’s annoyance grew steadily.
“I’m not a child you need to hover over, Stitt.”
“You say I’m stubborn,” Gar spoke only loud enough for Faolan to hear. Still, he backed off half a pace, making it easier for Faolan to get his bearings.
There was something about Gar, the scent of his body, the strength of his touch, all of it drove Faolan to distraction. Ignoring the questioning looks of his crew as they passed, they finally reached his quarters with only minor difficulty. The moment the door slid closed behind them, Faolan’s body trembled and he fell to his knees to the floor.
“You really are an idiot, Wolf.”
This isn’t fair. “I never said I wasn’t.”
Gar pulled him up and manhandled him to sit on the edge of his bed. “What isn’t fair?”
Gods-damn stone. “Take that fucking thing off, will you?”
“I will when you start talking to me.” Gar dropped to his knees between Faolan’s legs. Large hands rubbed up Faolan’s thighs, easing away the pain “You’re hurt and scared.”
Faolan looked away. “Freaked out a bit. Not scared.”
“Fine. Regardless, you’re not alone in all this. Let me help.”
You won’t stay. The thought flashed through Faolan’s mind before he could stop it. He knew Gar heard by the way the young man flinched.
“Why would you think that?” Gar squeezed his thighs.
“You don’t owe me anything, Stitt. We had a little adventure together, some great sex, a couple of laughs. It’s not like I’m expecting you to give up your life and become a pirate. You already said you prefer to be on your own.” So lonely.
Faolan knew he was being a coward, turned back to face Gar. What he saw in the other man’s expression shocked him. Blue eyes were wide and red rimmed. His full lips were parted as his tongue darted out to wet the bottom one. Gar looked like a man on the edge of making a very large decision—Faolan wasn’t sure if he would like the outcome.
They stared at each other for a long time. Faolan wasn’t sure if Gar was picking up on his thoughts or if he was lost in his own. Gar sat back on his heels, slowly reached up and undid the chain that held the stone around his neck. Instead of putting it in Faolan’s hand, he reached up and clasped it around his neck.
“I think it’s only fair you hear what’s going on in my head, since I’ve had a front seat to your thoughts.” Gar loosened the knot of his tie and undid the top two buttons of his shirt.
Faolan hadn’t read Gar before. He was expecting the same confused numbness he’d experienced when he’d connected to Mace. There was none of that. The low buzz morphed into a full-out rush of heat as Gar’s thoughts jumped into his head.
Want to be with you.
Faolan froze. He was scared that if he moved, breathed, then whatever it was Gar wanted to say to him would never come out. Gar looked just as nervous, his fingers rubbing the bottom of his tie.
“Since I saw my dad die and thought Mace had been killed because of me, I made a point of keeping my distance from other people. I didn’t think I could…handle it if someone else I cared about…well, if something happened to them.” Broke me.
Faolan leaned forward and pulled Gar into a tight embrace as Kayla’s face came to mind. “I know.”
Gar turned his face, pressing a kiss to Faolan’s neck. “I thought I could go my whole life and not need to feel any sort of connection. I know that’s not the case.”
“I’m glad. No one should spend their life alone.”
“Not even if that individual is surrounded by people?”
Before Faolan could answer, Gar rose to his feet and pushed him back so he lay flat on his back. Wrenching his jacket, vest and tie off, Gar held Faolan still by the weight of his gaze.
“Gar?”
“I’ve watched you with everyone. I don’t know if it’s the responsibility of command or if you’re just as scared of getting burned, but you’re as alone as me. You smile and laugh and talk without ever telling anyone what you really feel. You can’t hide from me, Faolan. I’ve been in your head, seen the type of man you really are.”
He pulled open the buttons of his shirtsleeves, letting the material fall wide. Faolan could only watch, fascinated, as the man before him slowly bared his soul as he bared his body.
Swallowing, Faolan couldn’t even
manage a fake smile. “What kind of man am I?”
“Loyal. Brave. You care more about people than you’d ever say. Stubborn.” Loving. Gar leaned forward, giving Faolan access to the buttons of his shirt. With shaking fingers, Faolan began to undo them as Gar held his body up.
“I’ll give you stubborn.” He brushed his thumb across Gar’s nipple. “Might want to add horny too.”
Want you. “What about the serum? The poison?”
“I’m fine.”
“Faolan—”
“Too much talking.” Faolan hooked his arm about Gar’s neck and pulled him down into a kiss.
The pace was slow, the contact messy as each tried to devour the other. Faolan’s fingers fumbled on the buttons until he gave up and tore the shirt open wide.
Leave me with nothing to wear. “Bastard.”
“Need to feel you,” Faolan muttered before pressing his face to Gar’s chest and sucking the skin hard enough to leave a mark. “Mine.”
Yours. “You now.”
Too far gone to get completely naked, Faolan jerked the clasp of his belt while Gar pushed his shirt up as far as his position and body would allow. The slide of skin on skin had them both moaning. Gods, he wasn’t even naked and this man made him want to fly apart. Another kiss, this time desperate and needy, both fighting to find something to hold on to. They clutched each other—Faolan knew it could be enough.
Gar grabbed hold of Faolan’s shoulders and using his leg to garner momentum, rolled them until they were on their sides facing each other. The movement sprang Faolan’s cock free so the head rubbed against the material of Gar’s pants.
“Fuck.”
Want to be close to you. “I want to try…”
Red faced, Gar snapped his mouth shut, but went to work opening the fly to his pants. Faolan didn’t move, fascinated by the precision with which Gar freed his cock with one hand while reaching for the lube they’d hidden under the pillow the last time they’d been in this position.
Faolan traced a finger down Gar’s cheek and waited for him to look back. When he did, the sight took Faolan’s breath away. Cheeks flushed and eyes heavily with lust, Gar looked like a sex god ready to claim his next concubine. For some reason, Faolan didn’t mind the look directed his way. But there was more to him, a look of complete adoration and love, like Faolan was the only man in the universe.
“I want to feel you like this.” Gar shifted closer so their cocks lined up perfectly. “I want us to come together.”
“Not as easy as it sounds, you know.” But Faolan was already pushing his pants down as far as he could get them without losing contact with Gar. “I’m game if you are.”
Faolan didn’t need to hear Gar’s thoughts to understand the body-racking shiver. “Please.”
“Have I told you how much I love that accent of yours?”
“Yes, but you can keep saying it.”
“Good. Now are we going to talk or—?”
Faolan gasped as Gar grabbed his cock tight in his fist. He hadn’t noticed the younger man coat his hand with lube or the realignment of his body. Gar chuckled as he stroked up the length of Faolan’s shaft, squeezing the tip and twisting his hand at the crown.
“We are definitely going to or now.” Want to make you feel good.
“Stop thinking and start doing it.”
Gar shifted closer so he could press his forehead to Faolan’s. Another roll of his hips and he released Faolan’s cock only long enough to move his beside it and capture them both in his grasp.
Together, they were too big to easily fit into the slide of Gar’s fist—it didn’t stop them from trying. The friction had Faolan’s head spinning. It felt like Gar’s body was all around him. Closing his eyes so he could let the other sensations wash over him, Faolan pressed his mouth to Gar’s, not quite kissing, but unwilling to give up the intimacy of the connection.
Make my body burn. No one else has. I feel so alive, connected. I’m not alone anymore.
Faolan sobbed as he fumbled beside them for the lube, squeezing more of the slick substance over the heads of their cocks before reaching down and joining his hand with Gar’s.
“Together.”
Gods, yes.
It took them a minute to find the right angle, the right rhythm for them to move as one. When they did, it was like the universe finally slotted together the way it always should have. Faolan found a connection to Gar he didn’t think possible—something he never thought he’d get again. He wanted to watch Gar, see the same spark burning in his gaze.
“Keep your eyes open,” Faolan whispered.
Gar’s lids dipped closed for a second before bouncing back open. He tightened his fingers around Faolan’s cock, who felt his balls tighten in response. Oh, this was going to be embarrassingly short.
So warm, smell good. Love this. Gar pressed closer, swiping his thumb across Faolan’s crown on the upstroke. Faolan growled and tried to move his other hand trapped by their bodies so he could touch them more. Finally, his fingers connected with Gar’s balls, giving him access to the wrinkled skin to tease and torment.
“I can smell you,” he whispered. “Smell the sex, how turned-on you are. How bad you want to come. You do want to come, don’t you, Gar?”
“Yes.” A whisper, a prayer.
Faolan bit down on Gar’s lip. “I want you to scream when you do. Tell the whole ship how much you want this. How good I make you feel.”
So close. “With me?”
“Almost. I’m almost there. Just…don’t stop.”
They didn’t speed up the pace of their hands, but squeezed harder, making the channel between them tighter. Faolan felt Gar’s heartbeat pounding against the cage of his ribs, the fingers of his free hand clenched into Faolan’s hair, as they flew higher and closer toward their orgasm. Sweat beaded on his skin as his body shook from his impending release.
“Faolan.” Gar kissed him. I love—
His orgasm started somewhere in his feet, firing its way up his legs to explode through his body. Faolan roared as intense pleasure blacked out the edges of his vision, sending his head spinning. Gar’s screams joined his cum as he came across their hands. Faolan held on, feeling an intense happiness and calm settle over him.
Their ragged breathing swallowed up the oxygen-deprived air between them. Faolan pulled back enough to catch a deep breath. “Wow.”
“Thank you.” Gar kissed his chin. “That was…thank you.”
Gar’s fingers flexed in his hair, the long strands twisting around the sweaty skin. Faolan didn’t want him to ever let go. Moving his hand through the combined mess of their cum, Faolan let a soft chuckle slip. “I’ve made you all messy.”
“I know this might be hard to believe, but I don’t really mind all that much.”
“I’m a bad influence on you, Stitt.”
They slipped into an easy silence, rearranging their bodies so Faolan could press Gar’s back to his chest. Things finally felt right. The near-constant fog of his body and brain had cleared, giving him a measure of his old strength back. Peace settled on him as Faolan hooked his chin on Gar’s shoulder.
“We should get really naked next time.”
“Do you want there to be a next time?” Gar took Faolan’s hand and pressed it to his chest.
“Of course I do.” What the hell was Gar getting at? “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I know you don’t do…this.” He felt Gar swallow and tighten his grip. “And I find myself going into uncharted space.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to stay on the Belle Kurve.” I want to stay with you. “I don’t need to tell you what I’ve felt. I mean, the stone should have shown you.”
Faolan shifted so Gar’s back was flat against the bed. When their eyes met, Faolan reached up and jerked the chain so the stone fell free of his neck. Setting it beside their bodies on the mattress, he laced their fingers together.
“I’d like that. If you stayed.”
; Gar’s lips twitched into a soft smile. “Can you spare the quarters, Captain?”
Faolan looked up and frowned at the mattress. “We’ll have to move your bed in here from the Geilt. It’s more comfortable.”
Gar rolled his eyes. “You’re just using me for my possessions.”
“As any good pirate would.”
“Are you sure?”
Faolan reached down and grabbed Gar’s cock. “Did you suddenly turn into a girl on me?”
“Fuck off.”
Faolan kissed him with a final nip on Gar’s bottom lip. “Come live with us. Get to know your sister. Help make my last five to ten years happy.”
“I’ll help you find a cure, then we can have more than ten years.” The light in Gar’s eyes flared bright, aimed directly at Faolan. “How have you come to mean so much to me in such a short time?”
“Never question the heart, Gar. We just go along for the ride.”
“Faolan, I think that…I mean I feel like I…”
His heart constricted and that same mind-blowing awe Kayla had brought out in him hit Faolan full force in the chest. It was too soon to say the words—scared the vocalization would cheapen the power of his emotions. Doing the only thing he could think of, Faolan moved their joined hands to where the stone lay. Parting their palms enough to let the stone fall between them, he kissed Gar’s shoulder, waiting a heartbeat before thinking as clearly as he could. I love you too.
About the Author
It took Christine a lot longer than the average bear to figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up. When she was home on maternity leave, she decided to take a stab at saving her sanity and sat down to write a romance novel. After dabbling with various sub-genres, she realized she really enjoyed creating strange new worlds and writing about sex. Whether due to the pregnancy hormones or sleep deprivation, she thought this was a great combination.
No Quarter (Bounty, Book One) Page 20